


Something I Need

by OneMoreNight1996



Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Arya Stark & Sansa Stark Have a Good Relationship, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Idiots in Love, Pregnancy, Preparing for a baby, Roommates, stark family fun
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-16
Updated: 2020-06-20
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:28:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 53,872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23168527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OneMoreNight1996/pseuds/OneMoreNight1996
Summary: When Arya finds out she's pregnant she doesn't expect her best friend to get so involved in it and she definitely doesn't expect him to agree to tell her family that it's his baby to keep her ultra conservative mother from flipping out completely. Things get complicated quickly as feelings emerge and she's not sure if it's the hormones or if she is actually just falling a little bit in love.
Relationships: Arya Stark/Gendry Waters
Comments: 216
Kudos: 516





	1. Chapter 1

She wanted to hit herself for being so stupid. She wasn't reckless and unconcerned with consequences, no matter what her mother thought, especially not when it came to sex. She'd had a few one night stands but she had never done it without assuring that there was a condom involved no matter how drunk she was, so she hadn't exactly been expecting to find herself in her current situation. She'd been feeling off for about a week, nauseous and overly tired, and she'd thought she was getting sick until just that morning. Her phone had dinged with a message from the app she used to track her periods informing her that she should already be on it.

The revelation had sent her into a literal tailspin as she'd stared at the phone in horror for a full minute before rushing out of the flat to go to the store. She hadn't wanted to take the pregnancy test she was clutching in her hand back home, not wanting Gendry to accidentally stumble in and start asking questions she wasn't sure she was ready to answer yet, so she'd purchased it before locking herself in a bathroom stall in the store. She'd followed the instructions exactly as the box told her to and now she was here, staring down at the flimsy piece of plastic in her hands with two solid lines telling her just how fucked she was.

She remembered the night it must have happened. She remembered the guy she'd been with and the quick fumble in the toilets of the bar, but she knew he'd been wearing a condom. She'd put it on him herself in the rush to join their bodies as the alcohol fizzled through their veins but either she hadn't gotten it on properly or it had broken and neither of them had noticed in their inebriated states. She didn't know his name, had only met him that night as she had been out with Sansa and Margaery, and had no way to contact him. She wasn't even sure she'd want to.

She sighed and threw the test back into the box before she shoved all of it into the trash. This was definitely not how she imagined becoming a mother but in the back of her mind she'd already decided that she wasn't going to have an abortion. She knew that she could call Sansa right now and her sister would take her to the clinic and hold her hand as it was done with no judgement at all, Arya had done it for her once before after all, but she knew that wasn't what she wanted. From the moment the notification showed up on her phone, before she'd even taken a test to confirm, she'd already begun to make mental room for the new life so she knew there was no way she could go through with it.

She squared her shoulders and left the stall, her mind made up as she left the store and started walking to the car. She began looking up obstetricians in the city and reading reviews before she picked the highest rated one and made a call to set up an appointment and was immediately given one for later in the week. With that done she finally left the store and made her way back home.

Gendry wasn't home from work yet so she allowed herself a moment to breathe. She knew she was going to have to tell him about the pregnancy as soon as possible. They lived together and she knew she wouldn't be able to hide it for too long and besides that she wanted to give him the chance to decide whether he wanted to still live with her when a squealing baby shared their space. If he decided that he didn't, she knew he'd need the time to look for another place, so she resolved to tell him as soon as possible.

Their friendship had started in a strange way. They'd met when she was nine and he was a grumpy fourteen year old boy, no one expected them to be friends. He'd started coming up to Winterfell for summer visits when Robert Baratheon had decided to finally acknowledge his existence and take him in after he'd been bounced around foster homes for a few years after the death of his mother. At first, he hadn't seemed to want to be there at all and spent much of his time sulking in corners while the rest of them played but he'd soon been joined by Jon who could sulk with the best of them.

Gendry and Jon had become friends before she and Gendry had. Jon would always make a point to include him in everything even if Gendry didn't want to be and soon he warmed up to the other Stark children, her included, and had become part of the family in a way. She and Gendry hadn't spent a ton of time together on account of her being five years younger than him, which to a kid seemed like a chasm of difference, but when Jon had turned eighteen and immediately enlisted they'd begun to become closer bonding over their shared love of Jon and talking about how much they missed him.

Gendry had stayed in Winterfell himself after her father had offered him a job working at their company while he saved up for college meaning he was around a lot. Arya took Jon's spot, playing video games and teasing him endlessly, and they became best friends easily. They were both snarky and sarcastic and a little prickly which somehow made their friendship just work. She'd cried when he said he was moving to King's Landing to finally start college a few years later but they kept in touch, video calling and texting as well as occasional visits, and when Arya got accepted to King's Landing University at the same time as Gendry deciding to move to a new flat on account of hating his roommate, it only made sense for them to get a place together which they still lived in.

Her mother disapproved of the whole thing naturally. Her mother had been raised with a certain set of views that she sometimes couldn't let go of so the fact that Arya was living with a man who she wasn't engaged or married to made her very annoyed. She'd been told more than once that it was improper but she'd just rolled her eyes. Her mother could be dramatic at times and Arya knew that her being pregnant outside of marriage would make her mother have a full on conniption. She definitely wasn't looking forward to telling her. Her mother also wasn't a fan of Robert, despite him being her father's best friend, which had extended to Gendry even though he'd never done a single thing to warrant it.

The sound of the door opening and closing brought her out of her thoughts and made her realize that she'd been staring blankly at the TV for over an hour. She almost physically shook herself before she stood and turned to see Gendry shrugging out of his jacket and hanging it up on the coat rack next to the door.

"I don't really feel like cooking tonight. Do you want to just order in?" He asked as he turned to glance at her. Something on her face must have alerted him to the turmoil in her mind because his eyes went soft and concerned immediately upon looking at her. "Hey, are you alright? You look a little pale."

"I'm fine!" She exclaimed quickly. 

"You sure about that?" He asked, thoroughly unconvinced. She didn't blame him, she wouldn't believe her either.

"Really, I'm fine. Just a little tired." She said, forcing her voice to be calmer. "Take out sounds good."

He stared at her for a long moment as he chewed on his lip and looked like he was debating pushing it but eventually he seemed to breathe out a sigh before he turned and pulled out the take put menus they had stacked in the drawer next to their spoons and forks. She knew he'd come back to it later and question her but she was glad he was letting it drop for now. She wasn't sure what would come out if she opened her mouth right that second.

They shuffled through the take out menus for a few minutes before deciding to order from the pizza place that was down the street from them. The pizza was delivered soon after and they sat on the couch together while flipping through channels before finally settling on some nature documentary. She chewed on her piece of pizza slowly, still feeling slightly nauseous in a way she was almost sure wasn't going to go away anytime soon, and focused on not blurting out her news. She needed to tell him but she wasn't sure the best time was now when she could cause him to accidentally choke to death on pizza. She was also not quite sure what to say.

She forced herself to focus on the documentary, which was actually kind of fascinating as it focused on the animals found around Asshai, instead of allowing herself to get lost in her own head again. It was only when they'd finished eating and he'd moved to throw the trash away that he plopped down on the couch right next to her and forced her to focus on him.

"So, you want to tell me what's going on?" He asked. She glared at him, she knew he wasn't going to just drop it.

"Nothing. Why would something be going on?" She asked. He raised an unimpressed eyebrow.

"I know you, Stark. We've been friends for over a decade, you can't hide from me." He said it with a smile but his eyes were serious. "And your face when I came in today, it tells me that something's up, so come on. Talk to me."

She sighed. She'd never been able to hide a thing from him, he was one of the only people in the world who could read her like a book. Even the smallest frown or shift of her body informed him of her mood. It was the same the other way around, which made it hard for either of them to keep a secret from the other. 

"Okay, you have to promise not to judge me." She said, looking at him seriously.

"You know I never do." He said, his voice gentle as he seemed to realize that this was going to be a serious conversation.

"I did something really stupid." She said. "So stupid that you might want to move out in the near future."

"I'm not going to do that." He put in immediately. She raised an eyebrow.

"You don't even know what I did yet." She said.

"Doesn't matter." He shrugged. "You're stuck with me Stark, might as well get used to it."

"What about if I got married? Would you still live with me?" She asked and he rolled his eyes.

"Duh. I certainly hope that your husband likes me because I'm not going anywhere." He said playfully before his face fell back into a serious expression as he studied her face. "That's not what's happening is it? Did you elope with someone and now you want me out of the flat?"

"I'm not even dating anyone, who exactly would I have eloped with?" She asked, rolling her eyes. "That's not what's happening."

"What is it Arya, seriously?" He asked, grasping her hands in his. "You know I always have your back but to do that I need to know what's going on."

"I..." She paused, her eyes falling to their hands on her lap. _Just tell him._ "I'm pregnant."

"What?" He asked, his voice obviously confused. She looked back up at him.

"I'm pregnant." She repeated. "And before you ask, I don't know who the father is. Or I do, vaguely, but I don't know his name. It doesn't really matter, I'm gonna do this on my own, but that's why I said you might want to move out. You didn't sign up for a baby that's going to be crying all hours of the night and I'd understand if you didn't want to stay here, it's fine - "

"Arya, stop." He cut her off. "I'm not going anywhere. You're my best friend, I love you, and this baby is going to be a part of you so I'm going to love it too. I'm going to be here for all of it. You can't scare me off that easily."

"There's going to be diapers, and waking up to crying at three in the morning when you have to go to work in the morning, and it's probably going to be a mess around here for the foreseeable future." Arya said seriously. "I wasn't kidding. I'd understand if you wanted to live somewhere else, you didn't sign up for this, it's on me."

"I'm not going anywhere." He repeated, his voice low and serious as their eyes met. "Consider this as me signing up for this. You're my best friend and you're going to have an amazing kid, I want to be around for that. And besides, I need to cement myself as the favorite uncle before Jon sweeps in and lays his hand on the kid. The gods know it only took him an hour for both of Robb's kids to declare him the best, I want to have fighting chance at being favorite."

She laughed as she rolled her eyes. He was right, Jon had some magical touch that made all babies like him.

"You're sure about this?" She asked.

"I'm sure." He said with a nod.


	2. Chapter 2

Gendry liked being in the forge. It was sort of an almost lost art but he enjoyed the things he could make from the molten metal. He could shape it into something beautiful or something dangerous and deadly and he sort of liked the duality of it. It also allowed him to take his mind off his thoughts as he pounded the metal into the shape he wished it to be. His father disapproved of his chosen career path, telling him that he'd helped pay for Gendry's college so that he could work for him after he got his degree as if he expected gratitude for doing the barest minimum of parenting, but Gendry didn't allow it to bother him. He mostly ignored anything the man had to say.

Arya's father had always supported him more in his dreams and only mentioned once that he'd make more money if he worked for the company he and Robert co-owned together but didn't push when Gendry firmly declined. He even tried to cool his wife's obvious dislike of Gendry when he was visiting Winterfell with Arya throughout the years. He felt like more of a father to Gendry than his own did but also not in a weird way and he'd never said a word against him and Arya sharing an apartment, unlike his wife, even though Arya had been only seventeen at the time they'd moved in together on account of her graduating from school a year early.

Although the forge allowed him time to quite his mind most of the time, it just wasn't happening today because he couldn't get the thought of what Arya had shared with him out of his mind. He knew that he was the only other person who knew about her pregnancy so far and he'd meant it when he told her he was going to be there for all of it but it did bring up some complicated emotions in him. He obviously knew that Arya wasn't a virgin because she'd told him the first time she'd ever slept with someone but being confronted so obviously with the fact that she was having sex still made him feel strange. He couldn't quite place the emotion in his head but he knew that he didn't like the thought of her with someone which was stupid because she could do what she wanted with her own body. The feeling was almost a protective older brother feeling but he knew that wasn't quite right either. He didn't think Jon felt this way when he found out his sisters were with someone.

He was brought out of his thoughts by the door opening behind him and he saw Davos come in. The old man owned the shop that Gendry worked at but he was training him to take over when he chose to retire and Gendry was technically listed as a co-owner now but he hadn't quite wrapped his mind around that yet. He smiled at the man as he laid his hammer down to the side and dipped the blade he'd been forging into the bucket of water at his feet, letting it cool before he placed it on the table with the other commissions they'd gotten throughout the week. 

"You looked like you were thinking awful hard about something boy." He said, disregarding the fact that Gendry was far from a _boy_. Gendry shrugged lightly as he tried to keep his face from showing every thought he had.

"Got a lot on my mind I guess." He said easily. Davos raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah?" His voice lilted up at the end of the word making it a question. Gendry sighed as he chewed on his lip, he didn't want to betray Arya's confidence but he also knew that Davos would keep the conversation to himself if Gendry asked him to so he blew out a breath and leaned against the anvil as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Arya's pregnant." He said, watching as the man's eyes went wide for a moment before he schooled his face into a neutral expression.

"I guess congratulations are in order then." He said and Gendry rolled his eyes.

"It's not mine Davos." He said.

"Really? I always thought you two - " Davos started but Gendry waved his hands to stop the words.

"I've told you before, it's not like that. She's my best friend." Gendry told him. The old man raised an eyebrow.

"Best friends make the best life partners." He said seriously. 

"Maybe but Arya doesn't see me in that way. We grew up together, she sees me as another brother in the mix." He shrugged.

"Do you see her that way or do you think of her like a sister?" Dacos asked and Gendry sighed as he thought about the question for a moment. He had sisters, there was Myrcella plus the other Baratheon Bastards, as Mya had taken to calling them, but he didn't think he had the same sort of relationship with Arya as he did with them.

"Not a sister, no." He shook his head. "It's weird 'cause we grew up together, I saw her more than I saw my own sisters back then, still do really but that's not what it's like between us. She exists in this strange place between friend and family I guess, I've never really thought about it. She's just kind of always been there, or that's what it feels like at least even though I didn't actually meet her until I was fourteen, when I think about childhood, it's always memories of her and of Winterfell. I don't know, like I said, it's strange."

"Hmm." Davos said and Gendry gave him a face.

"What?" He asked, rolling his eyes once more. If this conversation went on any longer he was afraid they'd get stuck that way.

"Nothing lad." He responded. "It just seems that I gave you a word for all of that and you didn't accept it."

"You gave me a word for that?" Gendry asked, studying the old man.

"Yes, just now in fact. A life partner." He said, his face telling Gendry that the man was exasperated with him. "That's what you literally just described. You might not have accepted it yet but I'm putting my bet in now, you're gonna marry that girl one day. Also, I don't think she sees you as a brother, not with the way she looks at you sometimes when she comes in here and you aren't looking, I'm just saying."

"You're being ridiculous." Gendry said, even as his heart clenches in his chest a little at the mention of him and Arya getting married. Davos is an old man with a romantic heart and a sometimes fanciful imagination. He made a point to change the subject. "Anyway, I completed most of the commissions we've gotten in the last couples of weeks barring only a couple but they shouldn't take me too long to do. Have we gotten more?"

Davos gave him a face as if to say he knew exactly what Gendry was doing but wasn't going to call him on it just yet.

"We've got a project from a company that wants replica armor made based on pictures of old Kingsguard for some sort of exhibit-slash-fair they're putting on. It'll probably take you a couple of weeks because they want ten sets of armor made for people to wear. It's going to be quite a hefty commission but we may have to halt in taking regular ones until this project is finished. It'll have the added bonus of hopefully getting more customers once they see the work completed." Davos explained.

"That's great." Gendry said genuinely. "It's going to be a lot of work but I think it'll be worth it if we do get new customers from it. We could always use more business around here." 

"That's what I thought but I wanted to make sure that you were on board for the amount of work it'll take before I gave them a definite answer." Davos said. "I'll go give them a call and let you get back to work finishing up those last couple of commissions. They should send over sketches of the design they want soon after and I'll let you take a look at it."

"Is Edric coming in today?" Gendry asked and Davos raised an eyebrow at him once more.

"He's your brother, shouldn't you already know the answer to that?" He asked and Gendry sighed.

"We don't exactly exchange schedules, so no." He said.

"You get along with your sisters with no problem but you and your brother can barely be in the same room for ten minutes without an argument. What's that about?" Davos said in exasperation. Gendry knew it was because he'd had to switch their schedules around so that they rarely shared a shift together because of their obvious animosity toward one another and he knew the other man found it endlessly frustrating.

"It's different with him than it is with any of the others. You know that." Gendry said, not really in the mood to rehash the argument again.

"Why?" Davos asked.

"Because he acts like he's better than us, like he's not a bastard same as the rest of us because his mother came from money and his life looked different from all of ours growing up. He doesn't know what we each went through, not truly, but he knows enough." Gendry said seriously. "He looks down on us because of our different upbringing. He'd never say it out loud but I can see it whenever he speaks to me or any of our sisters. It's infuriating and honestly makes me want to punch him in the face any time I see him."

"I know it's frustrating lad but he's still your family." Davos said. "He was brought up to believe he _was_ better, it's not his fault. That kind of privilege can be hard to unlearn. You two should at least try to get along."

"I don't need the free therapy Davos." Gendry sighed, turning back to the forge so he didn't have to look at the old man and see the frustration in his face. He stocked the fires until the were blazing again before checking the list for his next project and ignoring Davos' eyes on him until the old man huffed a sighed and turned to walk into the store from the forge door and back to his office.

Gendry and Edric had always had a complicated relationship ever since they'd met and neither of them could seem to shake it much to the frustration of everyone around them. Mya seemed to see the way Edric talked to them in the same way that Gendry did but she let it slide in a way that Gendry himself just couldn't manage, Bella didn't particularly care what anyone thought of her so she easily ignored it, and Barra was too young to really understand the issue. They all seemed to have no problem spending time with their brother despite it all but it never worked out well if it was just him and Gendry alone.

It didn't help that Edric hit on Arya every time they saw one another no matter how many times she said no. Gendry was beginning to think anyone named Edric was attracted to Arya in some way because stupid Ned Dayne flirted with her all the time too. It was endlessly frustrating but Gendry never said anything to either of them because he knew it would make him seem like a prick and if Arya wanted to hook up with one of them, that was her right no matter how much the thought made him burn. He knew she never had because she'd told him as much but the possibility for it to happen was still there and it drove him up the wall. He was about 90% sure she'd never pick either of them but it was still that annoying 10% that he got hung up on. 

There was also the fact that even if Arya didn't pick either of them, she would eventually find someone to settle down with and he couldn't place in his mind why the thought of that hurt so much. His mind inevitably circled back to what Davos had said about him marrying Arya one day. He didn't see it happening in reality, she was far to good for him and his best friend besides, but the image of it was now implanted in his head and he wasn't sure he could ever get it out again no matter how hard he tried.


	3. Chapter 3

Arya met Sansa for lunch at the cafe that was owned by her friend Hot Pie, who always gave them a free dessert when they came in. She'd gone to her appointment that morning and the doctor had done a thorough check up and hadn't seemed even a little bit judgmental when Arya had told her that the father would not be involved. Arya liked her a lot and it made her feel a bit more at ease about the whole pregnancy thing so she had decided that she was going to tell her sister. So far only she and Gendry knew about the pregnancy, and Davos, but he didn't really count as he was very unlikely to tell anyone in her family. When Gendry had informed her that he'd told the older man, he'd looked so guilty that she couldn't even pretend to be mad at him. In truth, she didn't care about anyone knowing she was pregnant she just didn't want someone to tell her mother before she had come up with a solid plan to handle the whole thing.

It was only after they'd eaten and were sharing a truly ginormous banana split that Arya dug around in her wallet for the ultrasound picture she'd gotten earlier in the day. Sansa was going on about some party that Willas and Margaery were planning for Loras and Renly's engagement announcement and it distracted her for a moment even as she had the ultrasound clutched between her fingers as she thought about how strangely all their family's were intertwined in different ways. Margaery and Robb were married and had two kids already, Willas and Sansa had been together for years, and Renly was Gendry's uncle which meant that she probably saw him and Loras more than everyone else. Any fight or breakup in their family was instantly news for everyone and she knew that her pregnancy would be much the same so she'd make sure to remind Sansa not to say anything about it for a while.

"Sans." She said, stopping her sisters words immediately.

"Something wrong Arya?" She asked leaving Arya to wonder if something in the tone of her voice had given away her nerves. She wasn't sure but she pushed forward without giving it much thought.

"I wanted to meet with you today because I have something to tell you." She said seriously.

"Okay." Sansa nodded and turned her body in her chair to face Arya fully.

"You remember a few weeks ago when I went out with you and Margaery for her birthday?" She asked and Sansa nodded. "Well, that night I got really drunk and hooked up with someone in the bathroom."

"Yeah, I know." Sansa interrupted. "You disappeared for twenty minutes and came back with a love bite."

"Yeah, anyway." Arya said, moving past the fact that her sister had obviously known what she was doing that night and hadn't commented on it before now. "Something happened. I'm pregnant."

"Aren't you on birth control?" Sansa asked, her eyes going wide.

"Yeah, I was." Arya said, rolling her eyes. "We even used a condom but it must have broken or something because here we are. The doctor said it might have been because I was using antibiotics for that chest cold I couldn't shake and it affected the birth control."

"Do you want me to go to the clinic with you?" Sansa asked, concern in her eyes and Arya shook her head as she finally pulled the ultrasound out of her wallet and sat it on the table.

"I'm going to keep it." Arya told her. "This isn't that kind of conversation, I just wanted you to know because you're my sister. You live in King's Landing as well so you'll see me more than the rest of our family and you'll see the baby more when it's born. I figured you should be the first one in our family to know."

"First one in the family?" She asked. "Am I not the first one period?"

"Gendry knows." Arya admitted. "I had to tell him. I wanted to give him the option of moving out before a crying baby was waking him up in the middle of the night."

"Uh huh, and that's the only reason you needed to tell him first?" Sansa asked.

"He's my best friend Sansa. I don't need a reason to tell him." Arya rolled her eyes.

"You know, you can tell me if the baby's actually his rather than some random guy at the bar." She said and Arya sighed. Sansa had it in her head that Arya and Gendry were just inevitable and would eventually fall into bed together despite protests from Arya on the subject any time she brought it up.

"It's not his." She said. "Gendry and I have never had sex."

"That still surprises me." Sansa said, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Why?" Arya asked.

"You two live together, you share the same space. I'm almost positive that you've seen each other naked even by accident, it would be hard not to, you've lived together for so long and yet you've still never had sex." Sansa said. "You haven't gotten super drunk and fallen into bed together or anything. It's strange."

"Why is that strange?" Arya asked, a smirk on her face at the mystified tone in Sansa's voice.

"You're both attractive single people who have a shared history. It's like the universe is shoving you two together and neither of you are taking the hint." She sounded almost frustrated and Arya's smirk grew.

"I think you've been watching too many romance movies Sansa." She pointed out. "The real world doesn't work like that. Gendry and I practically grew up together, he remembers me as a scrawny nine year old and every awkward stage of growth since then, I highly doubt he could look at me in a sexual way at all at this point."

"You're honestly telling me you've never once fantasized about him? That you can't see _him_ in a sexual way at this point?" Sansa raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

"I didn't say that. Of course I've thought of him like that, I was a young sexually frustrated teenager once after all, but it's different the other way around." She said.

"Why?" Sansa asked.

"Because like I said, I was a kid when we met." She shrugged. "It's different because he's older than me so fantasizing about him as I grew up was kind of a forgone conclusion that it was going to happen but he sees me as that little girl. As _Jon's little sister._ He's put me in a box that makes me untouchable to him which I eventually realized and dropped the stupid crush I had on him."

"Are you saying that you don't still fantasize about him because I would remind you that you sometimes talk in your sleep and the last time we had a girls night, you said his name more than once, and whatever you were dreaming about didn't sound entirely mundane." Sansa said with a grin and Arya refused to allow the blush to come to her face.

"He's an attractive guy, it's not my fault what my subconscious chooses to focus on." She said firmly. "He's my best friend and that's all."

"If you say so." Sansa said, looking the whole while like she disagreed with everything Arya had said but wasn't going to contradict her just yet as she reached out to sip on the water in her glass. "Anyway, I'm obviously not going to tell anyone but you should probably start concocting whatever story you're going to tell mum right now. We're all going to be expected to be back in Winterfell for Jon's birthday in a couple of months and this ultrasound says you're at eight weeks already so there will definitely be no hiding it by then."

"For fucks sake, she's going to kill me." Arya groaned. "You think I could pretend to be sick and get away with not telling anyone until I pop the kid out?"

"Not likely." Sansa said, far too amused by the situation for Arya's liking.

"Glad you're enjoying my pain." She said and Sansa snorted.

"You're being a little dramatic you know." She said. "I'm sure mom will be pissed for the foreseeable future but there's nothing she loves more than her grandkids so I'm sure she'll get over it once the baby is actually here."

"Hopefully." Arya said. "Though, I'm sure she could hold a grudge for the next century if she were so inclined."

"Probably." Sansa shrugged.

They dropped the subject then, finishing their dessert before paying the bill and parting ways. Arya had taken the day off work for the appointment and Sansa had to rush back to work on the cases piling up on her desk anyway so Arya decided to just go home. Telling her boss about the pregnancy had been a necessary thing as she taught self defense classes and would need to be less hands on than she normally was but it was also one of the most awkward things she'd ever had to do.

Sandor was a gruff man of few words so when she come to him to tell him about her pregnancy he'd stared at her for a long time before he rolled his eyes and huffed a sigh. He also told her that she was the last person he expected to be popping out kids. She'd told him that it wasn't really part of the plan and had just sort of happened and he'd in turn then called her an idiot before he'd partnered her with Ned Dayne so he could do the physical parts of the teaching for the foreseeable future. She was almost certain he'd done it because he knew it would annoy her more to be partnered with Ned than anyone else in the center. Her and Sandor's relationship was a strange one, mostly antagonistic, but they respected one another and she figured that was good enough.

There was really nothing wrong with Ned, he was just a bit over eager and constantly flirted with her. It was harmless flirting but she didn't see him in that way and she could tell it disappointed him but still they were friends, or close enough to it, that she'd invited him along to a few parties that Sansa or one of Gendry's many siblings threw. This was how she quickly learned that Gendry didn't like him too much. It was never anything he said or did that made her aware of this fact, it was just the way he held himself when Ned would talk to him that let her know, years of friendship allowing her to decode his body language easily. He never would tell her why the boy rubbed him the wrong way but she knew he did. She was sure he'd roll his eyes when she told him that she'd be stuck with Ned for the next few months.

She didn't have much to do for the day once she got home so she started by doing a bit of laundry, throwing her and Gendry's clothes in without even bothering to separate them, before she made her bed and cleaned the house a little. It wasn't that dirty, both her and Gendry made an effort to keep the place mostly clean, leaving her with only a small amount of work. She found herself easily bored and decided to watch something on TV so she changed out of her regular clothes and into a pair of pajama shorts and one of Gendry's sweaters. He was used to her stealing his clothes by now and didn't even bother to protest when he saw her wearing them anymore. She found them much comfier to wear than her own.

She got caught up in watching something on Netflix that she didn't notice the passing of time until the door opened and she glanced at the clock before standing from the couch and stretching.

"You're home early." She commented as she turned to see him shrugging off his coat by the door.

"Finished my work early so Davos let me leave." He shrugged as he looked at her. "How'd it go at the doctor's today?"

"Fine." She said. "Everything's healthy."

She moved to grab the ultrasound that she's shown Sansa and slid it across the counter to him. He picked it up and his eyes flickered over it before coming back up to meet hers.

"Such a small thing to be such a big deal." He said and she laughed as ran her finger over the little blob at the side of the picture.

"It'll grow." She said with a smile. "I have the strangest feeling that it's going to be a girl, though I don't know why. It's obviously not something you could tell yet."

"I hear mothers have an instinct about these things." He told her. "If you say it's a girl, I'm putting my bet in now."

"What are you betting for?" She asked and he grinned.

"Naming rights." He said. "Before anyone in your family throws out name suggestions. If it does turn out to be a girl, I'm going to tell them all that I guessed it first so I get to be the one to pick the name."

"Why don't I get to pick the name?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Fine, I'll give a list of names. You can pick from them." He shrugged. "I'll take no suggestions from anyone either."

She shoved him with her shoulder as she rolled her eyes. He plucked the ultrasound out of her fingers and moved to pin it to the front of the fridge with a magnet.

"A place of honor." He said, turning to her with a smile. 

"A place where anyone will see it you mean." She said with a raised eyebrow but didn't move to take it down. He looked at her, his face falling into a serious expression.

"You don't want people to know?" He asked and she sighed.

"It's not that. I told Sansa today, in fact, it's just..." She trailed off. He moved toward her and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"It's just what?" He asked.

"My mother." She said. "You know what she's like, the ideals that she was raised with. She hated when we moved in together because we weren't dating or married, this is going to send her into a tailspin. Not only am I pregnant out of wedlock but I don't know who the father is and he's not going to be involved. She's going to lose it and I'm not looking forward to telling her. I don't mind people knowing, I just don't want it getting back to her before I have time to come up with damage control."

Gendry was staring at her with a strange expression on his face as he took in her words and she could see him processing them in his head. He chewed in his lip for a moment before meeting her eyes with a serious expression.

"Tell her it's mine." He said and she stared at him dumbfounded for a moment.

"What?" She asked, not entirely sure she'd heard him correctly.

"The baby. Tell her it's mine." He repeated.

"Why?" She asked, her voice incredulous.

"Because at least then she couldn't yell at you for not knowing who the father was and you won't have to tell her he's not involved. I already told you I'm going to be here for all of it so it won't really matter." He said and she stared at him with he mouth hanging open slightly.

"Have you lost your mind?" She exclaimed and his face fell slightly but she didn't stop there. "My mother already doesn't like you and now you want to tell her that you knocked me up when we aren't even dating? Do you not value your life Gendry? She will kill you and hide the body in the backyard."

"That's a little dramatic." He said.

"You've met my mother. Do you really think I'm kidding?" Arya asked. "And besides, even if she doesn't kill you, she's not going to keep quiet about it. If I tell her that the baby is yours, you'll never hear the end of it."

"I can take it." He said, his voice serious. "It's not as if we have to give details about where and how it happened. She doesn't need to know that, and this will at least make it easier for you."

"This is my mother we're talking about Gendry. If we tell her that we made a baby together, it'll be like the holy inquisition until she hears every lurid detail." Arya told him. "You really want to sign up for that? This isn't on you, I'm the idiot that made this mess, not you. You shouldn't have to be forced to deal with my crazy mother."

"I've been dealing with your crazy mother since the day your little seventeen year old self unceremoniously announced that you and I were going to be living together and stubbornly refused to budge on it, I've got this, and like you said it's not like she was my biggest fan before now." Gendry shrugged. "You're my best friend Arry, anything I can do to spare you a little pain, I'll do it."

"But this...." She trailed off with a shrug. "This isn't something you can take back Gendry. If we tell my mother that the baby is yours, there's no going back, everyone will hear about it. Are you sure that's something you want to deal with?"

"I'm not going anywhere." He said, his voice low as he stared at her with soft eyes. "I don't care what anyone else thinks. I'm okay with this or I wouldn't have suggested it."

The look on his face made her heart give a little squeeze. She knew he was serious about this and he'd be here for her through it all but she hadn't expected him to volunteer to tell her parents and her entire family that the baby was his to save her some pain. More than that, she hadn't expected the way it would make her feel. She almost wished that it was true, that it was his baby, and that opened up a whole can of worms that she wasn't sure she was ready to deal with just yet. She pushed all those thoughts away, telling herself that she'd come back to them later, before she looked up at him with a small smile on her face.

"I'm glad you're here you know." She said, her voice just as soft as his. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

She had a sneaking suspicion that maybe Sansa was right all along. Maybe there was more between her and Gendry than she cared to admit and she'd just pushed it to the back of her mind until this moment. Looking up at him, she had the strangest urge to kiss him.


	4. Chapter 4

After talking to Sansa and convincing her not to contradict their story about him being the father they still had to call Catelyn and tell her. Arya told him that telling her when they were both a safe distance away rather than waiting until Jon's birthday would be their best bet and he agreed with her. Though he'd told her that they'd tell her family it was his baby and brushed it off when she'd warned him about her mother's reaction, he knew she was right. Catelyn Stark had never liked him and this would just put even higher on the list of people she despised but he didn't want Arya to have to deal with her mother's judgement more than she had too so this was his solution.

He knew that Catelyn was likely not to be the only member of the family that had a problem with it and he was not looking forward to Jon's reaction. Despite not seeing each other as regularly as they once had, they were still best friends, and Gendry knew that Jon was likely going to be at least a little bit angry about the news. Arya was still his little sister after all and Gendry was a bit older, but he hoped Jon would get over it eventually. It was probably going to be awkward when they all saw one another in a few months though which Gendry was not looking forward too.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Arya asked, from her spot perched on the couch next to him. Her phone was in her hand and she was about to press call to facetime her mother. "You can still back out."

"I'm sure." He said, nodding to the phone. "Call her."

"Alright." Arya shrugged as she took in a deep breath and pressed the call button. The line rang twice before her mother answered, her face appearing on the screen, and Gendry saw the slight pursing of her lips when she noticed him in the frame as well.

"Hi mum." Arya said, her voice upbeat but Gendry could tell the tone was forced. "We haven't talked in a few days so I thought I'd call."

"I'm happy to hear from you Arya." Catelyn said. "I've been meaning to call you anyway."

"Oh?" Arya questioned.

"I wanted to confirm that you'd be coming up for Jon's birthday. Bran is bringing Meera Reed along with him and Rickon has become obsessed with Lyanna Mormont. I'll need you and your sister to keep an eye on them so that nothing untoward happens. You know how young boys are." She said and Gendry could tell Arya was repressing an eye roll. Bran was twenty four and Rickon was twenty. He knew she wasn't too concerned about if they were doing untoward things, but she wasn't going to contradict her mother right now.

"Will Meera and Lyanna be staying at the house then or not?" Arya asked. Gendry always stayed at the Stark house when he went to visit just like Theon did as Ned saw them as an extended part of the family due to them being around so much when they were younger. He knew the house had more than enough rooms for them all to have a place to stay.

"Yes, they'll be sharing one of the guest rooms for the stay but I know your brothers, especially Rickon, will likely try to sneak them into their rooms which is why we need to keep an eye on them. The last thing we need is for one of them to get someone pregnant." Catelyn said and Arya bit her lip as she glanced at him for a moment.

"Well actually mum, that's kind of what I - _we_ \- wanted to talk to you about." Arya said, using that as her opening and Gendry ran a hand along her back to try and keep her calm.

"What are you talking about Arya?" Catelyn asked, her eyes narrowing as they flicked to him for a moment before coming back to her daughter.

"Um...I'm pregnant." Arya said and her voice made it sound like a question. Catelyn stared at them for a long moment before her eyes came to focus solely on him.

"This is your doing isn't it?" She snapped and Gendry held back a sigh.

"Well, it's technically something we did together but yes, the baby is mine." The lie rolled of his tongue easily and Catelyn huffed in annoyance.

"I told you that living with a man before you were married was going to cause problems." Catelyn said. "Are you two planning on getting married then?"

"No." Arya said, rolling her eyes. "I don't need to be married to have a baby, mum. It's not the medieval times anymore."

"There has never been a child in this family born outside of wedlock Arya, I'll not have it happen now." She snapped and Arya sighed.

"What about Jon?" She threw out. "Aunt Lyanna wasn't married when he was born but I never heard you never mention that when you and dad adopted him. Why is this different?"

"Arya Stark, do not bring your brother into this!" Catelyn exclaimed, seemingly ignoring Arya's question, before her eyes came back to Gendry.

"You didn't even ask her to marry you after you got her into this mess? It's a disgrace." She was practically shouting now. "I always knew you'd be just like your father."

Gendry stiffened up at the words and he saw Arya glance at him with concern in her eyes, even as the anger sparked brightly in them and she turned back to her mother immediately.

"Gendry is nothing like his father." She said, her voice low and angry. "You have no right to say that, you've never even given him a chance. From the moment you met him you were just waiting for him to screw up and never allowed him to show you just how different he is from Robert. I'm telling you about the baby because you're my mother and you needed to know but I'm not going to sit here and allow you to speak to Gendry like that so you can call me when you're in a more accepting mood."

Arya hung up even as her mother was sputtering on the other end and she threw the phone on the coffee table before turning and wrapping her arms around him tightly. He returned the embrace easily even as her mother's words were still floating around in his head.

"I'm sorry." She said, her voice muffled by his shoulder. His arms tightened around her.

"It's not your fault, I agreed to tell your family that it was mine." He said. "I expected her to not be pleased about it."

Arya sat back and looked at him from where she was still half in his lap.

"I know but I didn't expect her to bring your father into it." She said seriously, looking at him with sadness in her eyes. "I know it's kind of a sensitive subject."

"It's alright, I understand her anger. She was raised with quite conservative views and in her eyes, she's right." He shrugged. "My father had a lot of bastards, me being one of them, so I can see what she means. We've told her that this baby is mine but that we have no plans to get married, so it'll be a bastard too. There's nothing wrong with that, a lot of people have babies out of wedlock these days, it's not exactly uncommon, but with the way she was raised it's a big deal."

"Do you want to get married?" She asked and he stared at her in disbelief for a moment not sure how to answer her question.

"What are you asking?" He asked, watching her face intently as she chewed her lip.

"I mean, what my mother said, she likely won't be the only one to say it." She said seriously. "I know it bothers you to be compared to him and I've just made the whole situation worse."

"Hey, it's not your fault. I was the one who suggested that we tell them it's my baby. I knew they weren't going to have the best reaction to it but I can handle it." Gendry said seriously, reaching out to grab her hands and hold them in his.

"I know but you're my best friend Gendry, I know you almost better than I know myself, and I distinctly remember you telling me that you never wanted to be like your father. That you never wanted to father a bastard like he did." She said, looking up to meet his eyes. "I know that you technically won't be because it's not really your baby, but everyone will believe that you did."

"Are you asking me to marry you then?" He asked, his brow furrowed in confusion even as his heart started racing in his chest.

"You got other plans?" She asked, an edge of teasing in her voice before her eyes went serious again. "No, but really would you want to? We're best friends, I'll marry you if you ask."

"So really, you're asking me if I want to get married just so people won't gossip about me?" He asked, trying to clarify the situation in his mind. "Is that really a good reason to get married?"

"Maybe not." She said, a small smile reaching her lips even as she looked at him with some emotion he couldn't place in her eyes. It made him feel strange because he'd always been able to read her easily but he couldn't right now. "You can just say you don't want to marry me, you know."

"I didn't say that." He said and she raised an eyebrow.

" So you do want to marry me then?" She asked and he sucked in a breath as he tried to unjumble the emotions and thoughts in his mind. Having her this close to him, practically still on his lap, while talking about marriage was making him feel some type of way and he felt almost like he couldn't form a coherent thought out of the mess his brain was in.

"What I'm saying is I don't want to marry you just to stop people talking." He said, trying to answer her questions without giving away just how much he wanted what she was proposing, but not like this. If he ever did marry her, which he still thought was unlikely, he wanted it to be because they both wanted to and not because she was afraid of what people were going to say about him and wanted to spare him from it. "I can handle it Arry, I promise. You're my best friend, there is nothing I wouldn't do for you, but getting married is not the answer. You're twenty five, you could still find someone you want to be with, who makes you happier than anyone else in the world, and you'll want to marry them and you couldn't do that if you tied yourself to me now just to spare me from a few nasty comments. Everything will be okay, we've got this."

"You're right." She sighed as she moved away from him. She sounded a bit disappointed though he couldn't think why she would be. "But if anyone else in my family says something like that, let me know. I'm not going to let them talk down to you for something that isn't really your fault."

He nodded and they fell into silence after that, catching up on a show they were watching, before Arya told him goodnight and went to her room to rest.

* * *

He really should have expected it when he got the call. Their families were so interconnected that you couldn't do anything without practically the whole world finding out about it, but still, he seriously considered ignoring it when Robert called and claiming that he was too busy with work to answer but he was on his lunch break and knew that Robert knew that so, instead he answered it with a sigh.

"Robert." He greeted.

"Catelyn Stark just called me to yell at me about my irresponsible son." He said and Gendry rolled his eyes.

"She's never liked me much." He answered. "Even less now."

"So it's true then? You got Ned's daughter knocked up?" He asked and Gendry pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers at Robert's choice of words.

"Yeah." He answered. The conversation he had with Arya still rolling around in his mind. He still felt like there was something about the conversation that he had missed and it was driving him crazy that he couldn't figure what it was.

"Well I can't say I'm surprised." Robert said. "The two of you living in that flat by yourselves, it was bound to happen."

"Why does everyone keep saying that?" He snapped, already annoyed by the conversation and it had barely begun. "Just because we live together and we're the opposite sex, everyone expects us to fall into bed together."

"Well they weren't exactly wrong were they?" Robert intoned. 

"It was a one time thing." He rushed to cover the slip, not wanting to blow their cover just because his father annoyed him. "Just our luck that she ended up pregnant."

"So she's going to keep it?" Robert asked and Gendry made a sound low in his throat.

"She is." He said.

"What are you going to do?" Robert asked and Gendry rolled his eyes.

"Not walk away." He said, his voice deadpan. "Something I'm sure is a foreign concept to you." 

"Catelyn will expect you two to get married." Robert said, obviously ignoring his slight.

"Yeah, she's already said but Arya and I have agreed that it's not something we want." He told him. "We aren't even together. She's my best friend, that's all."

"And yet you still managed to get her pregnant." Robert said and Gendry rolled his eyes. He had expected everyone to believe that they'd slept together when he told Arya to tell her family it was his baby but he hadn't expected for everyone to get so hung up on that one aspect of it. It seemed to be more interesting to everyone than the baby itself was.

"Like I said, one time thing." He said, concocting a story he hoped would make his father drop it. "We were really drunk, it just happened."

"Ah well, I've been there." Robert said, laughter in his voice like it was some big joke. Like that's not exactly how Gendry came to be in the first place. "Anyway, I called for a reason."

"What?" Gendry asked.

"I was going to send you some money, for the child." He said. "Kids cost a lot of money."

"Yeah, no thanks." Gendry spat. "Arya and I will handle it."

"I'm just trying to help." Robert said making Gendry roll his eyes again.

"Yeah well, throwing money at me isn't going to do that. I'd think you'd know that by now." He snapped. "We don't need your money."

He hung up before the other man could reply, silencing the phone when he immediately tried to call back, and going back to his lunch. Robert Baratheon seemed to think that money solved all his problems and tended to throw it at his children rather than trying to spend time with them and showing them he cared in any other way and Gendry suspected it was because he didn't actually care that much. Him trying to throw money at the child he thought was Gendry's before it was even born rubbed him the wrong way and he wanted nothing to do with it. The thought of Robert anywhere near Arya's baby made Gendry unhappy, the situation between Gendry and Arya was complicated enough without his father getting involved.


	5. Chapter 5

As she was getting ready to go into work Arya discovered that the pregnancy was already making itself known. It was like her body had been waiting for her to discover the baby and now that she knew about it, it had decided it was time to show. She knew that people wouldn't realize it just yet if they didn't know what they were looking for but she could tell herself. As she had pulled on her workout leggings, there was a gentle curve to her belly that hadn't been there before that most people wouldn't pay any mind to. She knew with her slight frame that it would likely be obvious sooner in her pregnancy than it would for someone else but she hadn't expected it to already be showing.

She'd been surprised by it which is how she found herself standing in front of the mirror on her closet door in just her sports bra and leggings. She'd been meaning to pull her tank top on over it and go into work but she'd become distracted upon her realization and now she couldn't seem to stop running her hand over the little bump. She obviously knew she was pregnant, the test and ultrasound confirming it, but the small change in her body had somehow made it seem more real to her and she couldn't help but marvel at it.

"Gendry!" She shouted his name, knowing he was in the bathroom because she could here the running water from where he was brushing his teeth. It didn't take him long to reach her room and he poked his head in the door.

"You need something?" He asked and she waved him over.

"Is it just me or can you see the bump too?" She asked as she ran her hand over it once more. His eyes flickered down to her belly before he reached out and grabbed her shoulders to turn her slightly so that he could look at her from the side. His eyes came back up to met hers and he grinned.

"Look at that. Baby Stark is making itself known." He said, his hand reaching out to touch the bump lightly. "There is definitely a bump."

"I assumed that it would take a bit longer to start showing." She told him, her hand coming to rest over his almost subconsciously.

"I don't think anyone will notice unless you say something about it." He shrugged. "It's kinda cool though. Makes it seem more tangible now though."

"That's what I thought too." She said, smiling at him before she shoved him lightly toward the door. "You can go back to getting ready now. If we stand here staring at my belly for much longer we'll both be late." 

"I'm sure Davos would understand if I told him why I was late." Gendry said and she rolled her eyes.

"Sandor would not." She said. "He'd probably call me a mushy idiot and make me stay late."

"Probably." He laughed but he left the room anyway and went back to the bathroom.

She sighed and shook her head as she finished getting dressed. Having Gendry this close and obviously excited about the baby made her heart hurt a little. In the time since they'd told her mother only a few days ago, she'd received calls from seemingly her entire family and even a few of Gendry's siblings, and she'd reiterated that he was the father. Calling Gendry the father of her baby, even when she knew the truth, was making her emotions even more conflicted than they'd been and she didn't know if it was the pregnancy hormones making her feel all over the place themselves or if she had just been suppressing all of it until now and it was hitting her _because_ of the pregnancy.

Gendry had been in her life for the majority of it and he'd been her best friend for over half of that time so feeling how she was about him put her in a weird position. She would admit that she'd always been attracted to him from the moment that she had started really noticing the opposite sex but she'd pushed it down because he was her friend, and older than her, so she knew nothing was likely to happen between them and soon it had become just something she acknowledged, like you'd acknowledge that a stranger was nice to look at, but not something she would act on. Now, she wasn't sure what had shifted in their relationship but she couldn't stop thinking about it.

It wasn't even just his obvious attractiveness that was throwing her but the feeling she got when she looked at him, like she wanted to kiss him, which wasn't an altogether new feeling when it came to him but the intensity of it was. It was also strange because, though she was focused on his physical attributes, she wasn't thinking about having sex with him, not entirely at least. It was more emotional than that and she couldn't figure it out, it almost felt like her crush on him had come back in full force like she was a bloody teenager again and it was a little frustrating because they'd been friends for so long that she'd thought she'd squashed any of those feelings out a long time ago.

They'd never once crossed the line with each other. They'd kissed before but it had only been during some stupid game they were playing with her siblings when they'd all been younger, truth or dare, and had been brief and chaste but they'd never done anything else like that. She knew that many people had expected them to have sex at least once, especially after they'd moved in together, but they never had. They were open with one another and never shied away from physical contact but it had never been sexual. They'd seen each other completely naked more times than she could count at this point, the product of sharing a living space for as long as they had, but they were always respectful and quick to turn away when it did happen. This was partially why the feelings creeping up on her were so annoying.

She'd meant it when she told Sansa that she thought Gendry didn't see her in that way, a sexual way, because he'd never given even a hint that he was interested after having ample opportunity for it. She knew he saw her as a friend, and just that, and she'd accepted it easily but now with the abundance of hormones in her body it seemed to have awoken that long forgotten part of her that had fantasized about a relationship with her best friend and she didn't know how to shove it back in, especially when they were pretending he'd fathered the baby she was carrying inside of her. She wanted to hit herself for being so stupid but she wasn't going to let her mess of hormones affect their friendship, she was sure that the feelings would go away again once her hormone levels stabilized so she'd just have to not do anything stupid until then.

* * *

She got to work in time to stretch her muscles before her first class started and she was happy about that until Ned came in and she remembered that he'd be co-teaching her classes for a while. She didn't really have a problem with Ned, even with his flirting, but she hated not being able to do things by herself. She knew it was safer for the baby to have someone else demonstrate the self defense moves she taught so she wasn't going to complain too much but it still made her slightly annoyed that she needed the help in the first place.

"Hey Arya!" Ned greeted with a big smile on his face as he sat he bag in the corner next to hers and took up a spot on the floor close to her to begin his stretches as well. She gave him a polite smile back.

"Hey Ned, have a good weekend?" She asked. She hated small talk most of the time but knew it was expected.

"Yeah. I went on a hike with my uncle and his friends through the Riverlands." He said. "They're all going to camp out for a few days but I had to come back early for work."

"Oh, that's a shame. Maybe next time you could take a few vacation days and join them." She said and he nodded.

"Yeah, that's what I thought." He shrugged. "Anyway, Sandor said he changed my schedule so I'm helping you with classes for a while. Do you know why? I always thought you were more capable than the rest of us, I've seen you throw around men twice your size during demonstrations."

"Yeah, well I won't be able to do that for a while." She said with a sigh. "That's why you're here, I'll need you to do the demonstrations after I've taught the moves. Sorry if I ruined your entire schedule, I didn't mean to."

"I don't mind." He said happily before looking at her for a long moment. "Why won't you be able to do the demonstrations for a while, if you don't mind me asking?"

"I'm pregnant." She said plainly. Everyone else already knew so she saw no reason to keep it from him and she knew he needed to know anyway since he'd be assisting her until after she had the baby anyway.

"Oh!" He exclaimed, giving her a smile so wide that she was afraid it would split his face. "Congratulations Arya. That's so exciting!"

His genuine happiness for her made her smile widely as well. She was glad that someone else seemed excited about it seeing as most of her family hadn't been. She and Gendry had tempered their enthusiasm about the baby when talking to their families because everyone had seemed kind of subdued about the whole thing. She knew that it was her mother's obvious disapproval of the situation that was making her siblings reactions as strange as they were because no one wanted to show too much genuine excitement for fear of her reaction, but she could tell they were all happy about it. Gendry's siblings were all happy but they didn't spend as much time with Arya as her own family so their excitement was kind of distant, which was okay with her seeing as it wasn't even really Gendry's baby, but they genuine happiness from Ned still made her smile.

She knew she'd been hiding most of her excitement about the baby when talking to other people, especially her family, because of her mother's reaction but Ned's genuine acceptance and congratulations, made her realize how happy she actually was about it. She hadn't meant to get pregnant, it certainly hadn't been in her plans, but now that she was and she'd had time to adjust to the thought, she was genuinely excited. She decided then and there that she would stop pushing the excitement away for the sake of her mother. She didn't want to let the less than enthused reaction keep her from enjoying her pregnancy fully. 

"Thank you Ned." She answered genuinely. "It is really exciting."

"Well, any kid you have will be totally kick ass so I can't wait to meet them." He said and it made her laugh.

"Me either." 


	6. Chapter 6

Davos had practically dragged Gendry out of the forge that day to go for lunch, ignoring his protests that he'd packed a perfectly good lunch that day, and so he found himself sitting in a cafe that he knew Davos and his wife frequented. Davos seemed content to sip his coffee and chat away about his family while Gendry ate the pasta and salad he'd ordered but he really should have expected that Davos had a reason for dragging him out.

"So, I heard from a little bird that you're the father of Arya's baby, which is strange because you told me that you weren't." He said and Gendry sighed heavily as he looked at the man.

"Has Edric been gossiping about us at work?" He asked with an eye roll.

"I heard it from Shireen actually, who heard it from Mya." Davos said, raising an eyebrow. "Seemingly your entire family has heard about it."

"Yeah, well." Gendry said, shrugging his shoulders and refusing to elaborate. Davos shifted in his set to look at Gendry seriously.

"I know you wouldn't lie to me lad so you want to tell me what's really going on?" He asked and Gendry sighed again.

"Arya's mother is conservative. Arya didn't want to tell her that she'd gotten pregnant by some guy at a club but she was going to anyway until I told her to tell her that the baby was mine." Gendry explained. "I wanted to save her some judgement and lectures from her mother but you know what our families are like. They're so interconnected in weird ways that everyone suddenly knows everyone's business the moment you tell anyone."

"So everyone believes that you're the father?" Davos asked and Gendry nodded.

"Pretty much." He said and noticed Davos studying him for a long moment before he cleared his throat and pursed his lips.

"So, what does this mean for you?" He asked and Gendry looked at him with furrowed brows.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"This lie that the two of you have told everyone, when does it end?" He asked. "Are the two of you going to keep the lie up after the child is born? Are they going to call you daddy? Are you going to give them your name? Are you actually going to be a father? How far does this go?"

Gendry chewed on his lip as he processed the questions and realized he didn't have the answer to any of them. He hadn't really thought beyond saving Arya some criticism from her mother when he'd suggested that they say he was the father and he didn't think Arya had either but Davos had a point. Both their families believed that they were having a child together and it was becoming abundantly clear that they weren't just going to be able to walk away from this without some serious repercussions. They really should have considered the consequences of their lie before they'd gone through with it and should have talked it through more instead of diving in head first. He wasn't quite sure he knew what the answers to the questions would be.

"I don't know." He admitted running his fingers through his hair. 

"Well, you should probably figure it out." Davos said quietly. "Before the child is born." 

"You're right." He said quietly. "I'll need to talk to Arya about it at some point. I just need to figure out the right time to bring it up." 

"Alright." Davos said. "You don't have to worry about me saying anything to your family. Whatever the two of you decide is your business, I won't interfere with it." 

"Thanks Davos." He said, giving the man a sincere smile. Davos nodded and they went back to their meal.

They took a longer lunch than they normally would before beginning the walk back to the shop. The streets were busy with it being near the middle of the day, rushing in and out of shops or talking in small groups on the grass of the park across the street, and Gendry let his eyes wonder along the displays in the shop windows as they walked past them. Their shop was at the other end of the street from the cafe they'd had lunch so there were plenty of shops between them.

It was when they passed a baby shop that his steps paused as he moved closer to the window. He noticed Davos glance at him before he halted next to him as well and Gendry looked at him.

"We can take a few more minutes if you want to go in." Davos said, sounding both fond and exasperated at the same time and Gendry grinned as he pushed the door open and stepped inside.

Noticing the gentle slope of the bump forming on her belly had made the whole thing seem much more real to him than it had before so he had found himself thinking of the baby more. He could hardly believe that she had another life growing inside of her and it seemed like something close to a miracle even though he knew it was something women had done since the dawn of time, it was different when it was Arya. This little life form would grow and possess a small part of her and he thought that was kind of amazing. She'd been his best friend for so long he couldn't think of life without her and having another living person that had a small part of her in them made him excited. 

As he looked around at the items on the shelves, he found himself marveling at the size of some of the clothes. He almost couldn't imagine a human ever being that small but then his mind went to Arya for a moment, with her small stature and petite form, and he realized that any baby of hers would likely be tiny. He ran his hands over the soft fabric of the baby blankets as he examined the designs on them and he smiled at the cartoon animals.

It was when he got to the soft plushies that his hands hesitated as his eyes caught on a wolf plushie. It was small and had grey and white fur and it made him think of Arya. He'd seen her family's crest, something that traced back generations, many times before and he knew immediately that she'd love the toy. He knew it would be a long while before the baby was born but he couldn't pull himself away from the plush so he picked it up and took it to the counter. The girl rang him up with a smile as she placed the toy in a bag and pushed it over the counter to him and he thanked her as he grabbed it and turned to leave.

Davos was standing by the door, where he'd been the whole time Gendry had been wondering around, and he raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything as they continued their walk back to work. Gendry ignored the knowing look Davos had on his face until they separated once they got back and he could escape back to the forge. He knew Davos thought he was in love with Arya and he didn't need the man's knowing looks and sly words making the mess of emotions in his head surrounding Arya even more difficult to sort through.

* * *

When he got back to the flat after work, he found Arya in the kitchen snacking on a bag of banana chips as she waited for dinner to be finished. He could smell the food in the oven and knew it was the pasta bake she'd texted him about only an hour ago. She was sitting on the island that separated their kitchen from the living room wearing a pair of shorts and his hoodie once again. At this point, the hoodie didn't even belong to him anymore because he never got to wear it as she'd stolen it months ago and never gave it back. He raised an eyebrow at her after he'd put his bag down by the door.

"You know we have chairs." He told her and she rolled her eyes.

"Obviously I know we have chairs Gendry." She said. "I just happen to like the counter more." 

"If you say so." He said, leaning against the counter next to her as he snagged a few banana chips. "You'll spoil your appetite with these."

"Who are you, my mother?" She asked, a grin crossing her face and he rolled his eyes.

"You're annoying, you know that?" He said and she laughed.

"Please, you love me." She said and he scoffed.

"Unfortunately." He said and she gasped and pressed her hand against her chest dramatically.

"You wound me." She gasped out and he rolled his eyes.

"I'm sure you can handle it." He said, a grin crossing his face before he moved back to the bag by the door and pulled out the shopping bag he'd gotten that day. He glanced at her over his shoulder to see her looking at him curiously. "Close your eyes."

She raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"I have a surprise for you." He said and her expression turned skeptical. 

"Are you going to put some wet gross thing in my hand?" She asked and he rolled his eyes again.

"No." He told her. "Now, close your eyes you absolute pain in the ass."

"Insulting me is not going to get me to do what you ask." She said but closed her eyes anyway belying her words. He stood up with the bag in his hand and approached her quietly. She had her hands held out, palms upturned, and a small smile on her lips. Her eyelashes were laying gently against her cheeks as her eyes were closed and the light illuminated the spattering of freckles across her nose. She was beautiful. He had a sudden urge to kiss her but he forced the thought out of his mind and instead, placed the bag in her hands gently. Her eyes fluttered open and fell to the bag before coming back up to his.

"I know it'll be a while before the baby is here but I saw this today and couldn't resist." He shrugged, feeling sheepish as she stared at him with an almost awed expression on her face. He nodded at the bag. "Go on then."

She opened the bag and stuck her hand inside to pull out the plushie. She sat the bag beside her on the counter as her hands ran over the soft fur of the toy and a small smile made it's way onto her lips. She looked at the toy for a long moment, her fingers running along the ears, and when she looked back up at him Gendry was horrified to find actual tears in her eyes.

"Oh gods, I didn't mean to make you cry." He exclaimed. "I can take it back."

He reached out to take it from her hands when she laughed softly, the tears obvious in the sound, as she pulled the toy from his reach.

"Don't be stupid, I love it." She said, even as she pressed her fingers under her eyes to stop the tears from falling. She sniffled quietly before scoffing. "Fucking hormones. I can't even look at a toy without crying, I'm a mess."

"You're allowed to be a mess." He said with a quiet laugh, relieved that the tears weren't caused by anything serious that he'd done to upset her. "I don't mind."

"Thank you for the wolf." She said, looking up at him with still watery eyes for a moment before she wrapped her arms around him, toy still clutched in her hand. "I'm sure the baby will love it too."

"Your welcome." He said softly, returning the hug. He pressed a soft kiss in to her hair, the movement feeling more intimate than it ever had before, and he felt her arms tighten around him. They held each other for a long time and he had a thought that Arya wasn't the only one who was more emotional than usual because he felt like his entire heart was open in that moment, exposing his deepest feelings, and he figured that Davos was probably right. He loved her and he wasn't entirely sure what to do with that.


	7. Chapter 7

The weeks before Jon's party passed rather quickly, with Arya being distracted by work and appointments with her doctor to check the baby's progress, that she was rushing to find a present before she and Gendry had to drive up to Winterfell for the weekend. Jon was coming down from the Wall to celebrate with their family and she was genuinely excited to see him as they hadn't gotten the chance months. They'd spoken on the phone and through facetime plenty but she still missed seeing him in person. She knew Gendry was nervous about seeing Jon in person again because of her pregnancy even though she knew they'd spoken on the phone about it already and Jon didn't seem too angry about the whole thing. He disapproved that they weren't in a relationship and had just had a drunken one night stand, or so the story they told went, but he eventually agreed that they were adults and could make their own choices. 

She didn't think there would be much of a problem once they got to Winterfell, most of her family had gotten used to the whole idea in the weeks since they'd found out, but she knew they'd still have to deal with her mother. Her mother had become far less vocal about her disapproval since they'd told her and hadn't said another word against Gendry but Arya could still hear the disdain in her voice when she spoke. She also knew that Gendry was reluctant about the fact that his father would also be in Winterfell while they were there. He hadn't been invited for Jon's birthday but would be there anyway as he and her father had to work out some details for the company and sign some papers but she resolved to keep him and Gendry as far apart as she could anyway. The last thing she wanted to happen was for an argument to break out between the two of them. They'd been butting heads for weeks already in relation to her pregnancy and she could tell that Gendry was close to exploding about the whole thing so she hoped being in the same house wouldn't spark the flame.

Finding Jon a present for his birthday, though, was her concern right now. She'd invited Sansa to come to the mall with her to try and find something but Jon was seriously one of the hardest people to buy a present for because he didn't like much. He was very simple in many ways and wasn't one for material things but she didn't want to show up empty-handed so she was searching. Sansa was walking next to her and sipping on a smoothie she'd picked up from the food court that was a truly terrible green color and Arya knew it had kale and other things in it. She had gone for a berry one herself so her's was a much more pleasant color. 

"He's not going to care what you get him, you know?" Sansa said, raising an eyebrow at him. "Once he sees your belly, he's not going to care about anything else. You know what he's like around babies and pregnant women."

"He is kind of like an excited kid on Christmas isn't he?" She said with a laugh. Her belly had grown considerably in the last few weeks and now the fact that she was pregnant was obvious to anyone who looked at her. She knew that she was four months into the pregnancy but her small frame made her look much further along and Gendry liked to tease her that her baby was going to be the size of her when it was born. She'd thrown more than one object at his head for his comments but it had only made him laugh as he ducked away from them. "Anyway, that's not the point. He's my brother, I have to get him something for his birthday."

"Why don't you get him a blanket or something?" Sansa asked. "He lives at the Wall and it's bloody cold that far north."

"I'm sure he already has plenty of blankets, Sans." Arya laughed. "Plus, if I got him a blanket, you know Ygritte would never stop teasing him about it."

"Probably true." Sansa grinned. "But, I'm serious, he's not going to care."

"Still." She shrugged. "I want to get him something nice, something he'll actually use."

She ducked into a store as she spoke, prompting Sansa to follow her in, and she began looking through the sweaters that were displayed at the front.

"What did you get him?" She asked, glancing at Sansa out of the corner of her eye.

"A book." Sansa told her. "It's about the myths and legends that originated North of the Wall. He's always watching those shows that discuss them and I know Ygritte's family is from there so I thought he'd like it."

"He definitely will. He such a nerd." Arya said and Sansa raised an eyebrow at her. 

"You're not much better." She said with a grin. "Your obsession with weaponry and armor from back then is literally just as nerdy."

"It is not!" Arya protested. "Weapons are cool, myths and legends are literally just stories filled with strange creatures and heroes. That's much more nerdy."

"If you say so." Sansa said with a grin before her eyes went to the wall behind Arya where the jackets were hanging. "What about that? I think Jon would like it, it would fit his aesthetic."

Arya turned to see what her sister was pointing at and saw a black leather jacket with more zips that she thought were strictly necessary and she reached out to touch it. Sansa was right, it would fit Jon's general wardrobe, which consisted of all black, and Arya actually quite liked it. She reached out to touch it and found that the leather was a nice quality so she pulled it off the wall and held it up to look at closer. Some of the zips were purely for show and didn't have any other purpose but she knew that Jon would like it anyway.

"You're right, he'd love this. I'm getting it." Arya said, searching around until she found a store worker and asked if she could get the jacket in Jon's size. Sansa trailed behind her as they made their way to the register and she paused when she saw a soft sweater in a dark forest green color. Arya paused next to her and raised an eyebrow.

"Thinking of getting yourself a present?" She asked and Sansa shrugged.

"It's a men's sweater Arya, it's obviously not for me. I was thinking of getting it for Willas, I think it would look nice on him." She said and Arya rolled her eyes.

"You could buy a men's sweater for yourself Sansa, it's not like anyone would care, and let's not pretend that you aren't going to steal it from him anyway. Why not just skip the middle man and get it in your size?" Arya asked.

"I like when the sweaters are a bit big on me and smell like him." Sansa said, agreeing with Arya's statement that she was just going to steal the sweater anyway without actually saying the words.

"Fair enough." Arya shrugged. "I steal Gendry's clothes all the time. They're more comfortable."

"You know that's totally a couple thing right?" Sansa said, side-eyeing her as she picked through the sweaters to find the right size. "Wearing his clothes, I mean."

"It's really not a big deal." Arya told her, beginning her walk to the register once more with Sansa following.

"It would be if he had an actual girlfriend. I can guarantee she'd have a problem with it." Sansa said and Arya rolled her eyes.

"Well he doesn't have a girlfriend does he?" She snapped lightly. "So it doesn't really matter."

"Touchy on the subject, aren't you?" Sansa said and Arya threw her a glare as she paid for the jacket and accepted the bag from the girl at the counter.

"You're insufferable, you know that?" Arya asked and Sansa shrugged.

"Just pointing it out." She said, her voice nonchalant but the look on her face tipped Arya off to the fact that she was enjoying riling her up. She huffed and spun around to walk away, leaving Sansa to rush to catch up to her, which didn't take her long with her stupidly long legs. She was still grinning but didn't say anything further on the subject as they weaved their way through the crowds of people and back outside to the parking lot.

Arya had ridden along with Sansa rather than driving her own car so she couldn't escape her sister even if she wanted to so she was glad that Sansa seemed ready to drop the whole thing. She flipped on the radio the moment they got into the car and they both silently agreed to stop talking about anything even remotely serious. They sang along to the radio until the got to Arya's flat. 

Arya hugged Sansa before hopping out of the car and waving to her sister as she left. Sansa was driving up to Winterfell that night with Willas and planned to stay through the weekend before returning home. Arya and Gendry were going to be the last to arrive for Jon's birthday because neither of them could get off work for the week so she fully expected the family to be gossiping about them the whole week leading up to their arrival. She was almost glad not to be around them all at the moment.

* * *

Arya was laying on her bed, reading one of the parenting books she'd picked up on a whim, when Jon face timed her and she answered with a smile.

"Hey!" She said, glancing at the room she could glimpse behind him. "Are you at home?"

"Yeah, we just got in an hour ago." He said and she raised an eyebrow.

"We? Ygritte came along?" She asked. 

"Yeah." He said. "She wanted to see the family so she decided to come. Catelyn's even letting us share a room now that we're engaged."

"Seriously?" Arya laughed. "I never thought I'd see the day."

"Me either." He grinned before his face went soft and serious. "How are you, with the pregnancy and all? I know she hasn't been making it the easiest."

"I'm good." She told him honestly. "Gendry and I have mostly been ignoring her negativity and she's gotten much better at not saying anything when we speak. We're both very excited about the baby though. You'll never believe how big I've gotten in just a few months."

"Well, I can't wait to see you in person." He said. "It feels like it's been forever."

"It has been!" She exclaimed, raising an eyebrow at him. "I haven't seen you in six months."

"It's really been that long?" He asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Definitely." She nodded before smiling at him. "I can't wait to see you either."

"Gendry's coming with you this weekend isn't he?" Jon asked and she nodded.

"I'd have thought he would have told you that himself." She said. "You two are good friends."

"We haven't really spoken in a while." Jon said and she raised an eyebrow.

"A while?" She asked. "How long is a while? The two of you always made a point to talk at least once a week, when did that stop being a thing?"

"Right after I found out you were pregnant." Jon admitted and she rolled her eyes.

"Tell me you haven't been ignoring him because of this." She groaned and she saw Jon blush lightly.

"It's not on purpose." He said sheepishly. "I'm just trying to wrap my head around the two of you, together. That's all."

"He's one of your best friends, Jon." She said seriously. "And we're not children anymore. Don't make this a bigger deal than it needs to be."

"You're my little sister." Jon whined. "That's against the friend code."

"Seriously?" She rolled her eyes. "You're not fourteen years old, get your shit together. Gendry's a good guy and I'm not a child, whatever happens between us has nothing to do with you and you know that so stop being an idiot."

"I know." Jon sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. "You're right, I know you are. I'll call him soon, I promise." 

"Good." Arya nodded. "Now, I gotta go. I have to be up early tomorrow for work, but I'll see you this weekend."

"See you this weekend." He said. "Love you."

"I love you too, you over-dramatic oaf." 


	8. Chapter 8

Gendry finished up the commission of King's Guard armor just in time to go to Winterfell. The company that had ordered them would be coming the next week to pick them up and Gendry knew that business would likely pick up after they'd displayed the work that he'd done so he fully expected to be busy for the next few months. He was proud of the work he'd done and thought it was some of the best he'd finished. Arya had agreed with him when she'd come to visit him on his lunch break just the week before.

Her growing belly, and the less than subtle looks from Davos, made it abundantly clear to Gendry that they needed to talk. He still hadn't managed to bring up the questions Davos had asked with Arya and, at this point, he was willing to admit it was less because he hadn't found the right moment and more because he was afraid of the answers he'd get. The farther along in the pregnancy she got and the more that people around him referred to him as the father, the more it came to feel like he was. He didn't want her to tell him that she only wanted him to be in the baby's life as her friend because it felt like it _was_ his child already.

He also didn't want to approach a conversation about their relationship outside of the pregnancy. He knew now, for sure, that he loved her, that he was in love with her, but he didn't know how _she_ felt. Sometimes she'd get a look in her eye that would make him think that maybe she returned his feelings and then it would disappear like it had never been there at all leaving him wholly confused and slightly irritated. He was being a coward, he knew that, but he was afraid to address any of it. He didn't want to screw up their friendship if she didn't feel the same way. He'd rather have her as a friend than nothing at all.

He knew that Davos was right, they would eventually have to talk about all of it, but he was hesitating. Their relationship had been steady and stable practically since they'd met and he always felt like they could talk to each other about anything and everything but _this_ , he knew it would shake the very foundation of their friendship and he wasn't sure if he was ready to face that just yet so, for the most part, he'd been ignoring all the emotions swirling in his head. Being surrounded by her family, half of which he was convinced hated him at this point, for the whole weekend was just going to make it all more complicated. Or maybe it would make it easier, her time would be divided between all of them after all, so they wouldn't be spending as much time together. He wasn't sure which way it would go yet but he did know he'd likely spend the weekend dodging his father so maybe he'd be too distracted to even dwell on their relationship anyway.

"Are you ready?" Arya asked, popping her head in his door and bringing him out of his thoughts. "We should probably get going if we want to make it there by nightfall."

"Yeah, I'm ready." He said, shaking the thoughts from his head as he grabbed his bag and followed her out into the living room. Her bag was already sitting by the door and she was walking around, making sure they'd turned everything off, so he moved to help her.

Once they were sure their flat wasn't going to burn down because of a stray candle or appliance, she picked up her bag and followed him out. She stopped to lock the door behind them before shoving the keys in her pocket and following behind him to the car where they threw their bags into the backseat. She was once again wearing his hoodie which, though still big on her, now hugged her belly and made it obvious that she was pregnant. 

"Should I expect an inquisition when we reach Winterfell?" He asked and she raised an eyebrow at him as he started the car and pulled out onto the street.

"I don't think so." She said. "I'm pretty sure everyone's already asked all the questions they had but if they do start again, you could always just walk away."

"Right, and have one of them snipe me when my back is turned?" He asked, teasing her lightly.

"Oh please, they wouldn't snipe you." She said, a grin on her face. "They'd hire someone else to do it. Less chance of getting caught."

"Thanks, I feel so much better." He said sarcastically. She reached out to squeeze his hand lightly.

"Seriously though, I think most of them are over it by now." She said. "The only one who's still annoyed by it is my mother but I'm pretty sure _she's_ going to be annoyed about it until the end of time so it doesn't really count. Everyone else doesn't really care."

"What about Jon?" He asked, glancing at her. "He hasn't spoken to me since the day he called to ask me if it was true, if the baby was really mine, and I told him it was."

He knew she could hear the hurt that laced his words. He and Jon had been friends for even longer than he and Arya had, and though their friendship wasn't as close as the one he had with Arya, he still considered him one of his closest friends. The radio silence from him since he'd found out had hurt.

"Seriously?" She asked, obviously annoyed. "I told him to talk to you. He's being an idiot."

"You told him to talk to me?" Gendry asked, glancing at her for a moment before his eyes went back to the road. She looked exasperated.

"Of course I did. You two are friends and he's being stupid." She said with a shrug. 

"Well, he can't avoid me now." He said, trying to make a joke.

Arya didn't respond and when he looked at her once again she was chewing on her lip and seemed to be deep in thought. He didn't want to interrupt whatever she was thinking about so he let silence fall between them, flipping the radio on to fill the quiet, until she blew out a deep breath. 

"We can tell him if you want." She said, her voice soft. "That the baby isn't yours."

"Why would we do that?" He asked, wondering if she'd finally decided she didn't want to go along with the lie anymore. His heart gave a little clench at the thought, he liked the lie and wanted to keep it. He wanted it to not be a lie at all but he wasn't about to tell her that.

"I don't want to cost you your friendship." She said seriously. "I don't want to be the reason that the two of you have a problem."

"You're not." He told her. "I'm the one who said to tell them and I'm okay with them believing it. Jon will get over it, I know he will, and I'll have the opportunity to speak to him about it this weekend. We'll work it out."

"Are you sure?" She asked, looking at him with a soft expression on her face.

"I'm sure." He said, reaching out to take her hand in his, leaving the other on the steering wheel. "Everything will be fine."

"Okay." She said softly, bringing his hand up to place a soft kiss on the back of it. "Thank you, for all of this. I know my family can be a little crazy."

"Yeah, but it's okay. I'm used to them." He said, even as his heart gave a little flutter at her lips on his skin. He felt like a bloody teenager. She smiled and nodded before turning the radio up.

They didn't speak about anything serious from then on, just singing along with the radio and occasionally pointing something out along the roadside, but she never let go of his hand and that made him feel like maybe talking to her about everything wouldn't be such a bad thing. But he'd wait until they were back home, in their own flat, and not surrounded by her massive family.

* * *

The entire drive to Winterfell took just over three hours so the sun was setting and enveloping the world in darkness when they finally pulled into the driveway. The first time Gendry had seen the Stark house, when he was just fourteen years old, he'd been awestruck by the size of it. Now, years later, he'd grown used to seeing it but it still astounded him how much space there was. He knew that the massive mansion had plenty of rooms, which was why he was utterly surprised when the maid led him and Arya to her old bedroom rather than separating them, and he could see that it surprised Arya too. 

Both of them were aware of Catelyn Stark's strict rules about sharing rooms so the fact that they were put together was unexpected. Arya closed the door firmly behind them once the maid left and moved to place her bag on the chest at the bottom of the bed. She turned to look at him for a moment before shrugging.

"Well, I guess she figures it's a little too late to prevent a pregnancy so she threw us into the room together." She said finally and Gendry snorted as he laid his bag next to hers.

"It can't be that easy, she has to be up to something." He said and Arya groaned as she laid across the bed. He already knew he'd have to help her up again later. 

"I know, I just don't want to deal with it right now." She said. He moved to lay down next to her and she glanced at him.

"I'm glad this bed is so big, if it was smaller I'd probably be sleeping on the floor." He said and she raised an eyebrow at him.

"I wouldn't kick you off the bed even if it was a tiny cot." She said and he turned on his side to look at her.

"See, conscious you says that but I've shared a bed with you before Arry, and while other people are cover thieves, you're a bed thief." He said, grinning at her. "You roll until I'm forced to scoot over to give you more room and eventually, I'm hanging halfway off the bed with you pressed against me and a foot of space behind you."

"I'm a cuddly bitch, don't judge." She said, a playful pout on her face. "If you didn't move away each time, you wouldn't end up on the edge. Submit and let me be an octopus and we won't have a problem."

"It gets too warm." He protested. "I'm a naturally warm person already and your added body heat doesn't make it better. We'd end up being a sweaty mess."

"Better than being on the floor isn't it?" She snarked, rolling her eyes. "Maybe we'll just sleep without blankets."

"Seriously? I've seen what you wear to bed, you really want one of your brothers or, gods forbid, your mother coming in and seeing you wrapped around me wearing just that?" He asked, shoving the images that came to his mind away immediately as she moved to prop herself up on her elbow.

"What's wrong with what I wear to bed?" She asked.

"Nothing." He said. "You do you and all, but I don't think your mother would approve."

"Probably not." She said, shrugging one of her shoulders. "But I'm done worrying about what she thinks."

"Fair enough." He said, studying her face for a moment before he too gave a shrug. "Fine, you're right. No blankets, because I do not particularly want to end up on the floor."

"Alright then." She said with a grin as she fell back onto the bed. He laughed as he followed her lead, leaving them both staring up at the ceiling with their arms pressed together from shoulder to hands, and Arya moved slightly to entwine their fingers. He glanced at her but she didn't look away from the ceiling, so he turned his eyes back as well, even as he gave her hand a little squeeze.

He wasn't sure how long they stayed like that but a knock on the door jolted them both out of the moment. Arya's grip tightened on his hand, as a gasp left her lips at the sudden noise, and Sansa flung the door open. Her eyes traced over them quickly, pausing on their joined hands for a moment, before a smirk took over her face.

"You guys should come downstairs, we're having a movie night." She said and Gendry saw Arya glare at her.

"Gods Sansa, you nearly gave me a heart attack!" She exclaimed and Sansa raised an eyebrow.

"Sorry." She said, though she didn't sound very sorry. "But seriously, you guys should come. Mum's practically interrogating Lyanna and Meera, poor girls. We should at least try to distract her a little."

"So, you want me to come downstairs and divert her attention, is that it?" Gendry asked dryly. Sansa shrugged.

"Maybe it won't be that bad?" She suggested and Arya scoffed next to him.

"Please, Mum can't look at him without looking like she sucked on a lemon." Arya said next to him. "Besides, if they're going to be a part of the family, they're going to have to learn to deal with her at some point."

"So, you're not going to come?" Sansa asked and Arya shrugged. 

"I'm tired, it was a long drive and I'm growing a human." She said, glancing at him. He knew she was just trying to give them both a little time before they had to deal with the full force of her family and he was grateful for it. "I think we're just going to go to bed."

"Both of you?" Sansa asked, her voice making the question sound suggestive and it took everything in him not to blush as he became increasingly aware of their still joined hands.

"Get your mind out of the gutter, Sansa." Arya snapped.

"Fine. Have a good night." Sansa held up her hands in a surrender and left the room, smirk still firmly in place.

"Are we really going to bed?" He asked, glancing at his watch. "It's barely seven o'clock."

"I don't like the judgement in your tone." She said playfully.

"Sorry, m'lady. I don't mean to offend." He teased and tipped an imaginary hat making her roll her eyes.

"Help me up, smart ass." She grumbled. "I'm going to get changed."

He moved to pull her up from the bed and she dug through her bag for her night clothes before moving to the ensuite and closing the door. He took the opportunity to change himself, pulling off his clothes and debating weather he should pull on a pair of sleep pants. He usually slept completely naked, or in only his boxers on the nights it was a little cooler, but he wasn't sure if that was appropriate right now. He was still debating, standing next to the bed in only his boxers, when Arya came back out of the bathroom. 

She was wearing what she usually did, a long shirt and panties, and he realized quickly that she was wearing one of his t-shirts that she must have stolen before they left. He could tell she wasn't wearing a bra, she usually didn't when she went to bed, and he was trying desperately not to let his eyes stray over her body. The t-shirt she was wearing was white, making the outline of her body that much more apparent as the light shined on her, and when his eyes dipped for the slightest moment it became apparent that the material of the shirt was thin as he could make out her nipples very easily.

He sucked in a deep breath that he hoped wasn't obvious and climbed onto the bed as she turned the lights off. It was at that moment that he realized this weekend was going to be hell with her pressed up against him and would take all of his will power to prevent him from doing something stupid like pressing her against the bed and kissing her until they couldn't breathe. 

The bed dipped slightly when she climbed in next to him, and he counted slowly to ten in his mind to distract himself, until she scooted closer and wrapped herself around him. His hands hovered over her in surprise for only a moment before they settled naturally on her waist. One of his hands trailed around to lay against her belly and she placed her hand over his easily making a smile go across his face. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

"Goodnight Arya." He said softly.

"Goodnight Gendry." She answered, her voice just as soft.

Maybe his feelings weren't unrequited after all. 


	9. Chapter 9

Arya was woken up the next morning by Gendry trying to shift out of her embrace where she'd curled around him even tighter in the night and he apologized softly when she looked at him with blurry eyes. The sun was shining through the window but she could tell it was still quite early in the morning and she rolled over onto her back as he made his way to the bathroom to pull her shirt back down from where it had ridden up during the night. She ran her hand over her belly as she yawned and her mind ran through what had happened the night before. She'd taken his hand as they laid on the bed together and he hadn't protested, he'd allowed it to happen and hadn't seemed to mind at all, leaving her wondering what it meant. Maybe he didn't see her as just his best friend and Jon's little sister anymore, maybe they could be more than that. She hoped so.

When Gendry came out of the bathroom, she pushed those thoughts away to come back to later when they weren't surrounded by her entire family and rolled off the bed to go into the bathroom herself. She took her time brushing her teeth and hair after she'd used the bathroom and when she came back out, Gendry was already dressed for the day but he hadn't left the room, instead he was sitting on the edge of the bed obviously waiting for her.

"Don't want to face my family alone?" She asked and he shrugged sheepishly.

"Not at the moment, no." He said and she laughed.

She went to her bag and pulled out a pair of leggings which she pulled on easily before digging around for a sports bra, which she'd found was much more comfortable than a regular one as her breast had started to grow, and a t-shirt to wear. She didn't bother going back into the bathroom to change, instead she just turned her back to him and pulled off the shirt she'd used to sleep in and pulled the bra and t-shirt on before turning back around. She found that Gendry was staring at the floor and very pointedly not looking at her but his cheeks were slightly pink making her smirk. She knew for sure now, he definitely didn't think of her as a little girl anymore. 

"We should go down to breakfast." She said, making his attention snap back to her. "We've got to face my family at some point."

"Yeah." He said, standing from the bed and coming toward her. They had just turned to the door when it came flying open and Rickon stuck his head in.

"Time for breakfast!" He exclaimed as if he hadn't just made them both jump about ten feet in the air with his sudden intrusion.

"Gods Rickon, don't you know how to knock?" She exclaimed, her hand pressed to her chest over her heart. Rickon grinned unapologetically.

"Mum sent me up to get you." He shrugged as if that excused it. She rolled her eyes and shoved him out the door before following behind him with Gendry joining to procession behind her. 

When they got downstairs they found that everyone was already seated for breakfast, even Robb and Margaery's children, so they quickly took the available seats while Rickon slid back into the seat next to Lyanna. Her mother shot them a pointed look but Arya ignored it as she served herself some pancakes and the room devolved into conversation once again. 

With the amount of people in the room, the atmosphere was quite loud and boisterous for it to be early in the morning but Arya quickly sunk back into it. She was used to the crowd having grown up in a large family but she still made sure to periodically check in with Gendry. She knew he wasn't good with large crowds, even when they consisted entirely of people he knew and she didn't want him to be uncomfortable but he seemed to be fine.

She knew when it came to Jon's party the next day, it would be hard even for her and she was a far more social person than Gendry had ever managed to be so she'd have to be even more attentive to his mood. With just her family and all the significant others and children at the table right now, there were sixteen people and the party would have many more as Jon's friend's from the Wall would be coming along with other family friends. The party was going to be huge and, though she knew her mother wouldn't allow it to get too out of hand, it was still going to be intense for both of them. Neither of them really went out much when they were home so this was going to be a bit different for them and she already knew they'd likely dip out early. She was sure Jon would understand.

As the meal came to an end and everyone quieted down, her mother addressed the table as a whole.

"I would like to have the girls join me for tea later today while the men are out." She said and Arya raised an eyebrow immediately.

"Where will the men be going?" She asked.

"Your father wants to take them out to the archery range on the property." She said. "Male bonding time, he calls it."

"Really?" She asked, her voice unimpressed as she turned to look at her father with the same expression. "Male bonding time."

"Yes." Her father said, his eyes darting to her mother for just a moment and she had to resist rolling her eyes as she knew this was likely her idea. "I wanted to spend some time with Jon. He hasn't been around for a few months."

"Right, and that requires the presence of every male in the house for "bonding time" does it?" She asked and he shrugged.

"We're all family here. It's good to have time together." He said and she did roll her eyes then.

"Sure." She drawled.

"Can we go?" Lya asked, her small voice piping up from beside Robb. "Please, grampa."

She and Sera looked at him with matching pleading eyes, the look they knew he couldn't resist, and Arya snorted a laugh as he sighed.

"I suppose." He said finally.

"I thought it was _male bonding time_." Sansa said in a mocking voice. "Those two are certainly not male."

"They're children. They don't count." Robb answered before their father could.

"Right." Arya said, sharing a look with her sister.

"You know mum, if you wanted to spend time with just the girls, you could have just said so." Sansa said with a grin. "You didn't have to drag dad into it."

"I did no such thing." Their mother protested. "Your father made the decision on his own."

"Uh huh." Arya said but dropped the subject anyway. 

After breakfast, Rickon all but dragged all of them into the living room for a movie claiming it didn't count as family movie night the night before because Arya and Gendry hadn't been there. He picked one of the Bourne movies, she wasn't sure which one, and they all sat down to watch. She pulled Gendry down on the couch next to her and leaned into him until he rolled his eyes and wrapped an arm around her. She grinned as she snuggled into his side and his hand came to rest beside hers on her belly. It was a position that was becoming increasingly common between them even in their own flat as both of them had started resting their hands on the baby bump or touching it in passing as she'd grown.

She knew logically that the way that were acting around each other spoke to an intimacy between them that went deeper than just sexual but neither of them had addressed it. She didn't want to address it for fear of bringing up all the emotions behind the gestures because she wasn't sure what it was from his end yet but the further into the pregnancy she got the more she started thinking that maybe he felt the same as she did even though neither of them had said it. She'd spent hours upon hours trying to convince herself that what she was feeling was just the hormones from the pregnancy but she knew it wasn't the truth, she loved him, and the longer they spent pretending he was the father of her baby the more apparent it became. 

They'd always been comfortable with physical contact in their relationship and neither of them ever shied away from it but since she'd gotten pregnant, she'd felt a shift between them that she hadn't really been able to place. He touched her belly a lot but that was normal, most of her friends did, the change came in other ways. He'd brush her hair out of her face or place his hand on her lower back and even just lingering touches on her arm when he shifted past her in the kitchen, and she knew he wasn't the only one doing it, she'd been guilty of lingering touches herself. There was a tension between them now, not negative, just charged. She was almost certain he could feel it too, still neither of them said anything about it. She'd thought, at first, that he didn't want to address it because he was hoping it would go away. She'd thought it made him uncomfortable because he didn't feel the same way about her that she did about him but she was beginning to think it was more than that. Maybe he was just as afraid as her to make a move that would change the dynamic between them, possibly forever. She made a promise to herself that they'd talk about it when they got home, away from prying eyes. 

The sound of a gun firing on the TV pulled her out of her thoughts and made her realize that she had no idea what was going on in the movie at all. She glanced around the room and noticed that almost everyone seemed entranced by the movie except Sansa and her mother, both of whom were laser focused on her and Gendry. She gave them both a look and her mother pulled her eyes away immediately like she'd been caught doing something embarrassing but Sansa just raised an eyebrow, a knowing look on her face, making Arya huff and roll her eyes. Her huff caught the attention of Gendry and his eyes came to meet hers with a question in them.

"Alright?" He asked softly, obviously trying not to disturb the quiet in the room. 

"Fine." She answered back, just as softly.

"You sure?" He asked and she nodded. He studied her face for a moment before he nodded back and his eyes went back to the screen but the hand not laying on her stomach began moving along her back in a comforting gesture letting her know that he'd noticed the eyes on them as well and was trying to tell her it was okay without words. She smiled and moved her hand over his resting on her belly and entwined their fingers lightly. He ran his thumb over her knuckles, a soft smile coming to his face as well as he pulled her closer.

No one seemed to notice their conversation but she knew her mother and Sansa were still watching. She knew what they looked like right now, the very definition of a couple, but still she resolved to ignore them the best she could. She knew Sansa was just curious about what was going on with them and wasn't being malicious in her staring but whatever her mother thought of it, she didn't want to deal with right now, there would be plenty of time for that later. For now she just cuddled closer to Gendry and allowed herself to be sucked into the movie.

* * *

When the men all left, taking the twins along with them, all of the girls were crowded into the day room to sit around the large round table. There was a large pot of tea in the center of the table and a selection of cakes and sandwiches which they all helped themselves to. Ygritte looked slightly uncomfortable with the flowery china teacups and Arya knew she wasn't used to the high society feel of what was essentially a tea party but she looked prepared to endure it so she knew that the woman actually loved her brother because she didn't say anything snarky about it. She knew that Lyanna and Meera were more versed in the whole thing because they both came from families that occasionally attended the same high society parties as her parents, though both came from more minor wealth, and Margaery's family was even more uptight and fanciful than her own so she was prepared. Sansa and Arya had been sat on opposite sides of the table beside their mother, who was sipping her tea as her eyes traveled over each of them.

"So Ygritte, when were you and Jon thinking of having the wedding?" She asked finally. "It would be nice to know so we could plan what to wear."

"Um, we were thinking of having it later in the year." She answered. 

"A winter wedding then?" She asked and Ygritte nodded.

"Yes." She said. "We wanted to pick a time that everyone would have time to travel back for it so we were thinking of having it close to Christmas because most of our friends and family will have time off of work then."

"I'm sure that it will be lovely." Her mother answered. "Are you planning to have it here in Winterfell or North of the Wall?"

"North of the Wall." Ygritte answered. "It'll be easier for my family to attend if we do it there. Jon's asked to have a traditional northern wedding ceremony."

"That'll be fun." Sansa said. "Robb had a southern wedding ceremony. I think it'll be interesting to witness a northern one."

"Northern wedding ceremonies are a lot simpler than southern ones. I think I'd prefer it that way too." Arya agreed and her mother's eyes snapped to her immediately.

"Oh, so you're considering a northern ceremony too?" She asked and Arya sighed.

"Am I getting married?" She asked, annoyed at the question even though she _had_ just technically said she'd prefer a northern wedding. 

"I don't know. Are you?" Her mother asked and Arya shook her head.

"No, mum, I'm not." She said, raising an eyebrow at her. "Which I've told you already."

"I just thought, with the way you and Gendry were behaving, that things might have changed." She said.

"You two were very touchy." Margaery agreed and Arya gave her a dirty look for taking her mother's side in this.

"We're not getting married." She said. "We're not even dating."

"Right. The two of you have lived together since you moved out of your parents house, neither of you have dated anyone in the last few years, you spend most of your time together, you're having a baby together. Sounds nothing like dating." Ygritte put in, her voice sarcastic.

"It's not like that." Arya protested.

"What's it like then?" Sansa asked.

"We're friends, who just happen to be having a baby together. It's not a big deal." She said. She wasn't going to tell them she actually loved him before she'd even told _him_ so she clung to the story they'd come up with desperately.

"Was it not a big deal the night the two of you _made_ that baby?" Her mother asked, her lips pressed together and Arya rolled her eyes again.

"We were drunk, it doesn't count." She told them.

"It doesn't count?" Margaery asked incredulously. "Is that what the two of you are going with?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Arya asked.

"She's referring to the fact that the two of you have been half in love with each other since you were kids who didn't know what it meant." Sansa said. "The idea that the two of you slept together and it meant nothing is ludicrous so you must be lying to yourselves by saying _it didn't count_."

"Seriously, even _I_ can see how much that boy loves you." Her mother said. "I thought making the two of you to share a room would force you to admit it."

" _That's_ why you put us in the same room?" She asked, her head whipping over to her mother. "I knew you were up to something." 

"I just want you to be happy." Her mother said seriously.

"I am." She said. "We don't need to admit our undying love and get married just to be happy mum, we're already happy. It doesn't matter to either of us if the baby is born out of wedlock, it's really not a big deal. We don't have to get married just because we're having a baby."

"My mother isn't married and she has five children." Lyanna piped up from the other end of the table. "People don't care that much about that kind of thing anymore."

"See!" Arya exclaimed as she flung her hand out to gesture at Lyanna, glaring at everyone around the table as she did and the table fell into silence for a time, everyone taking a moment to catch their breath and collect their thoughts.

Lyanna and Meera were sitting at the end of the table, both looking quite surprised at the conversation they'd just heard, and Arya felt kind of sorry for them. They were the newest members in a patented Stark Family Gathering and hadn't yet been exposed to the worst arguments that could break out when they were all together. She figured an argument between her and her mother, a dime a dozen in their family, was a nice jumping off point for them both. She hoped they didn't scare them off because she could tell that her brothers cared deeply for their respective partners.

"I didn't put the two of you in one room just for that." Her mother said finally, picking up the conversation again in a calmer voice.

"Then why?" She asked seriously.

"I thought Gendry would be more comfortable that way, with someone he was familiar with." She said and Arya looked at her with a furrowed brow.

"He's familiar with all of us." She reminded her. "He visited Winterfell all the time when we were growing up."

"I know that." Her mother said with pursed lips, though she had a slightly guilty look on her face.

"Then what are you talking about?" She asked. She could see everyone at the table flicking their eyes between them, taking in every word like it was a particularly entertaining program on TV, but she ignored them as she stared at her mother.

"I've never been his biggest fan, and I can admit now that a lot of it had to do with who his father was, so when the two of you told me about the baby, I didn't react in the best way." She explained. "I never should have said what I did and you were right to call me out on it but the damage was done. I know he's sensitive when it comes to his father, I've seen him react badly to comparisons before. He doesn't want to be like his father, and he truly isn't, I know that and I can admit that I've judged him harshly for years with no reason. I thought putting him in a room with you, the person he's closest to, would make him more comfortable being here. I know he probably thinks that we all hate him now and we don't. I'm sorry for acting the way I have, I still don't agree with the two of you having a baby out of wedlock but I can get over it."

"Thank you, for saying that, but I'm not the one you owe an apology to." Arya told her.

"I know." Her mother said. "I'll talk to him when he returns."

"Good." Arya said with a nod.

Silence fell over the table again, everyone seeming awkward for having witnessed what should have probably been a private conversation, until Meera cleared her throat and spoke.

"I was under the impression that the two of you were already together." She said, addressing Arya. "He looks at you like you hung the moon and stars in the sky."

"He does not!" She protested, a blush flowing over her cheeks.

"He does." She said, a smirk on her face. "And you look at him in the same way."

"You really should just admit that you're in love with each other and get it over with." Sansa agreed. "We all know it's true and inevitable."

"He's my best friend." She said and even she knew she was starting to sound like a broken record. Sansa rolled her eyes.

"Keep telling yourself that." She said.

Conversation turned away from her after that, devolving into small talk as they all got to know the newest additions to the group, and Arya lost herself in thought. Apparently her feelings were as obvious as a flashing sign above her head would be so it left her wondering if Gendry had seen it too. She wasn't sure but she thought he had, just like she'd seen it in him just the night before, it was just that neither of them had voiced it. She thought maybe they were all right, maybe they _should_ just admit it, at this point it felt like it _was_ inevitable. 


	10. Chapter 10

They took the golf carts from the garage to ride across the property and reached the archery range just ten minutes later where Jon and Ned started unloading the bows and arrows. Gendry felt mildly worried that he was out here with all of Arya's brothers and her father while they had weapons on hand but he was almost sure they wouldn't shoot him with a bow and arrow, too suspicious. Jon still hadn't said a word to him but he was trying to ignore it. He figured Jon would come to him when he was ready and he didn't want to push the issue right now.

"Come on Gendry." Rickon said, pulling him to the range by the arm and shoving a bow into his hand. "Show us what you've got."

Gendry glanced at the others standing around. Robb was helping his daughters with smaller bows a little further down the line but everyone else was watching him and he blew out a breath before turning to the target. Rickon set a quiver of arrows next to him and he pulled one out and aimed before quickly letting it fly. It hit the bulls-eye just like he'd intended and he grinned as he grabbed another arrow and another, planting them both next to the first one.

"Holy shit!" Rickon exclaimed, making Gendry look at him. 

"Arya likes to visit the archery range close to our flat on the weekends." He explained with a shrug. "I picked a few things up. Mostly because she mocked me when I missed the target."

"Awesome." Rickon grinned.

After that, they all lined up and began shooting themselves, only pausing when someone needed to go retrieve their arrows and Gendry became aware that Robb and Jon were both just as good as he was. Rickon was a little worse and Ned didn't seem to really pay attention when he was shooting as he was watching all of them with a proud smile on his face when they'd hit the target. Willas and Bran were sitting next to the golf carts, both choosing to watch rather than participate, and Gendry knew it was because it was a bit difficult for Bran to manage a bow with his wheelchair and Willas couldn't stand for long periods of time without his cane and a bow required two hands. Lya and Sera were both absolutely terrible but it could be excused seeing as they were only four.

After he missed the target with an arrow he realized that he'd been paying attention to everyone else instead of his own target so he forced himself to refocus on the task. He cleared his mind and began again, shooting in the way that Arya had taught him, letting the world around him fade away. The repetitive nature of shooting the bow and arrow was relaxing, the only pauses coming when someone had to retrieve their arrows from the targets, allowing Gendry to finally let go of the stresses of being here with Arya's family with the lie they'd told hanging over them.

He'd spent more time with the Starks than he had with his own family after his father had decided to take him in and it was nice to just be spending time with them again without worrying about the pregnancy and their feelings about it. After a while, Ned stepped away from the range and put his bow back into the golf cart along with his arrows and moved back to watch the rest of them and Lya and Sera quickly abandoned their own bows to sit next to him on the grass. Gendry glanced at them every once in a while as he moved to retrieve an arrow or adjust his bow and a smile came to his face as he imagined the baby Arya was carrying in the group with them. He couldn't wait for the baby to be here among the rest of them.

When they finally all started packing up, Jon brushed past Gendry like he wasn't even there and he sighed as he turned to look at his friend. Jon was pointedly ignoring him even as the rest of the group was making small talk and speaking to Gendry happily. He was frustrated, Jon was his friend and he hadn't thought that he'd still be irritated about Arya and the pregnancy. He'd thought Jon would understand but apparently he'd been wrong.

"What is your problem?" He asked finally and noticed Jon's shoulders tense immediately.

"What?" He asked, not even turning around.

"You've been ignoring me for months and now you won't even look at me?" Gendry snapped. "I thought we were friends."

"Yeah? Well so did I!" Jon exclaimed as he whipped around to face Gendry. "But then you knocked up my baby sister!"

"We were drunk!" Gendry shouted, sticking to the story even through the anger that had sparked in him. 

"Exactly!" Jon shouted back. "She was drunk. You never should have gone near her when she was in that state. You took advantage of her when she couldn't say no."

"No Jon, _we_ were drunk. Both of us." Gendry ground out. "And if she had said no, I would have stopped, no matter how drunk I was."

"You're just like your fucking father, getting drunk and sleeping with someone you shouldn't. Do you have a shit ton of bastards out there too?" Jon asked, his voice cruel, and Gendry felt the urge to hit him.

"I'm not my father." He said, his voice low and controlled. "I'm not walking away like he did."

"You're not marrying her so who knows how that will end. Maybe you'll just leave after she has the baby and you decide that it's not what you want. You'll have an easy out without complications." Jon sneered.

"Arya and I decided together that we weren't going to get married, it wasn't a decision that I made on my own." Gendry glared at him. "I'm sorry that you have a problem with the way we decided to handle things but it's really none of your damn business Jon. You're my friend and Arya's brother but what we decide to do in our relationship doesn't need your input."

He spun on his heal and walked away before he did something he'd regret, like punching Jon in the face. He didn't even care that the golf carts were all sitting there with the others, or that they'd all just witnessed that argument, he'd walk back to the damn house before having to share a ride with Jon right now. His mind was a mess of anger at the things Jon had said but through that anger, a bit of worry peeked through, worry that their friendship had been irreparably damaged by this. He hoped not because as angry as he was right now, Jon had been one of his closest friends since they were just kids and he'd hate to lose him now.

He wanted to roll his eyes when he heard the sound of a golf cart behind him. Robb called his name and he sighed heavily even as he kept walking, doing his best to ignore him as he drove the cart right next to him, and finally Robb turned the cart off and hopped down to grab his arm. Gendry jerked away from him as he spun to glare at him and Robb held his hands up in a placating gesture.

"Get in the cart." He said.

"No thanks. I'll walk." He said, turning to resume his steps hoping that Robb would leave him alone. He should have known better.

"Could you stop being so damn stubborn for like two seconds?" Robb asked, rushing to place himself in front of Gendry to stop his movement. "Look, I get it, you're angry. You have every right to be but that doesn't mean you have to walk all the way back to the house so get on the damn cart."

"No." Gendry replied, stepping around Robb. He heard him groan loudly behind him.

"Do you really want to explain this to Arya?" He asked and Gendry's steps paused. "You know if the rest of us show up without you, she's going to clock on that something's wrong and then she'll probably lock you and Jon in a room together until you sort your shit out when she finds out what happened."

Gendry blew out a long breath of frustration. He knew Robb was right, Arya could be just as stubborn as the rest of them, even more so actually, and he knew she'd find out eventually but he wanted to hold off on it. He didn't particularly want to have to deal with her yelling at both of them for being stupid in front of her entire family. He'd rather wait until they were back in their own flat for that.

"Fine." He said, turning to walk back to the cart with Robb.

They were silent as he started the golf cart back up and began driving back toward the house and Gendry was content to let the quiet remain but Robb had other ideas.

"I'm sorry about what just happened." He said.

"Don't apologize for him, he's not a child." Gendry said immediately.

"I know." Robb said with a sigh. "You should know that the rest of us don't feel that way."

"Really?" Gendry asked, his voice unconvinced and Robb snorted quietly.

"Really." He insisted. "I was a bit annoyed at first. Arya is my baby sister, I'd be a bit annoyed about any guy knocking her up when they weren't dating, but I know she can make her own decisions. And besides...."

"What?" Gendry asked when Robb trailed off. Robb glanced at him for a moment before speaking.

"You care about her, I can see it in the way you look at her when you think no one is looking." He said. "I remember when I used to look at Margaery that way. Hell, I still do."

"I don't look at her any type of way." He protested weakly, easily getting what Robb was saying behind the actual words he spoke. Robb scoffed as he raised an eyebrow at him.

"Yes, you do." He said. "And it's okay, but you should tell her." 

"Tell her what?" Gendry asked, still trying to play dumb even though he knew he wasn't fooling anyone at this point.

"That you love her." Robb said simply.

"Right." Gendry scoffed. "And ruin our friendship?"

"You wouldn't ruin anything." Robb said quietly. 

"How do you know that?" Gendry asked.

"Because the way you look at her when no one is looking.....well, she looks at you the same way." He said. "And I think, deep down, you know that. You're just afraid because what if you're wrong, right? But I'm telling you, you aren't."

"I don't want to screw this up." Gendry said, finally giving up on any pretenses. "She's the most important person in my life and if I lost her, I don't know what I'd do."

"You won't lose her." Robb said, his voice sure. "Trust me. Taking that step with her, telling her how you truly feel, will make you feel so much better than hiding it away."

"Maybe you're right." Gendry said, as he chewed on his lip. A habit he'd picked up from Arya.

Rob nodded and they fell back into silence for the rest of the ride back to the house as Gendry contemplated the conversation they'd had.

* * *

When they got back to the house, they were immediately swept up into helping prepare for dinner and he didn't have anymore time to think about either the argument with Jon or the conversation he'd had with Robb. Cat was ordering them all around to prepare various dishes and set the table, the kitchen devolving into organized chaos with so many moving parts that it made his head spin and he wondered how Arya's mother kept track of everything. 

Dinner was a much quieter affair than breakfast had been. No one was really speaking much, only a few small conversations going on around the table, and Gendry could see Arya's eyes narrowed as she studied all of them in turn. Gendry became quickly aware that he would likely not be able to hold off on her finding out about the argument until they got home as he'd hoped and started mentally preparing himself for the inevitable fallout. 

Arya didn't address it at the table, which was better than he had expected for it to go, but the moment the bedroom door closed behind him she raised an eyebrow and her arms crossed over her chest.

"You want to tell me what that was about?" She asked.

"What?" He questioned and her eyes narrowed.

"You went out to the archery range with the boys today and then you all come back and no one seems to be talking to each other." She said evenly. "Hell, half of you wouldn't even look at each other. Are you really going to try and tell me that nothing happened?"

"It's not a big deal." He sighed as he leaned back against the door. "We'll work it out. Eventually."

"Work what out?" She asked. He knew she wouldn't drop it until he told her what had happened.

"Jon and I had a bit of a disagreement is all." He said quietly and she scoffed.

"Seriously?!" She exclaimed. "He's still on about this?"

"I can handle it, Arry." He told her.

"You shouldn't have to _handle_ anything. He's being a fucking idiot." She said, moving toward him. "Move. I'm going to talk to him."

"I'd rather you didn't." He tried and she met his eyes.

"Why?" She asked.

"I just don't want to deal with it right now, okay." He said softly. "If you go and talk to him right now, it's going to cause a whole thing that I really don't want your entire family getting involved in. Jon and I _will_ work this out, I promise, but it's just going to take some time. Can you just let me deal with this?"

She stared at him for a long moment, conflict in her eyes as she chewed in her lip, and he thought she was going to push the issue but finally she sighed and took a step back.

"Alright, I'll let you handle it." She said quietly. "But if it continues for too much longer then I'm going to have something to say about it."

"That's fair enough." He said, thankful to have diverted the issue for the moment.

"I'm going to take a shower and go to bed." Arya said then, annoyance still in her tone. "Maybe when I wake up, my brother won't be such an idiot."

She didn't wait for a reply from him and instead grabbed the shirt she'd slept in the night before to lay it across the bed. She dug around in her bag and pulled out a bra and pantie set and threw them on top of it, grabbing her towel out as well, and in the next moment she was stripping off the leggings she'd worn for the day. She yanked her shirt over her head after, leaving her in just her underwear, and Gendry had to force himself not to think about her completely naked. She gathered the clothes she'd laid out into her arms and brushed past him to enter the bathroom.

The door didn't close fully behind her and he heard the shower start as he fell back onto the bed. As much as he tried to stop it the image of Arya, naked and wet, just a few feet away from him engulfed his mind. He knew what she looked like naked, they'd been friends for a long time and he'd seen her without clothes numerous times by accident, so he had no trouble conjuring the image in his head no matter how hard he tried to resist. He didn't want to be _that_ guy, picturing his best friend naked in compromising positions, but the images came to him anyway.

His hand twitched where it was laying on his stomach and he thought seriously about getting himself off just to stop the images in his obviously horny mind but finally he convinced himself that it would be a bad idea. He had no idea how long she'd be in the shower for and no desire to get caught doing _that_ in her childhood bedroom so he forced himself to leave the bed, and the room entirely, to take the temptation away.

He ventured back downstairs as he'd rather deal with facing her entire family than having to listen to her in the shower for a second longer but when he made it to the living room, he found that most everyone had already gone upstairs. Only Rickon and Bran remained downstairs with their girlfriends and Gendry knew that was likely because they weren't sharing their rooms with them so they were spending time together before going to bed. Instead of joining them, Gendry made his way to the kitchen. He figured he could make a hot chocolate for Arya before she went to sleep.

When he walked into the kitchen though, he had a strong urge to walk right back out when he saw Arya's mother sitting at the table reading a book with a cup of tea in front of her. He knew it would be suspicious if he walked out without saying anything though so he sighed quietly before moving to put a pan on the stove and grab the milk from the fridge to heat it. After it had heated up, he went about putting the hot chocolate mix into it and stirring it, aware of the presence behind him the whole time. He took a couple of mugs down from the cabinet and poured the hot chocolate into them easily before turning around to leave.

"Gendry, can we talk?" She asked finally, making him pause in his steps.

"Of course." He said politely. She motioned to the seat in front of he and he moved to sit down, placing the mugs on the table in front of him.

"I wanted to say I'm sorry." She said and he looked at her in surprise. She gave him a small smile. "When you and Arya told me about the baby, I didn't react in the best way and I said some things that I shouldn't have."

"It's okay." He said and she shook her head.

"It's not." She disagreed. "I've always treated you in a way that wasn't very nice just because of who your father was and that wasn't right. I never should have judged you for his actions and I never should have said that you were anything like him because I know that you aren't. You're a good man and Arya cares deeply about you, I know that, and I know that my reaction hurt you. She was right to call me out on it, so I'm sorry."

"Thank you." He said softly, astonished at the words.

"I won't say I'm okay with you and Arya having a baby out of wedlock, I still don't like that, but I will try to be better in the future." She said quietly. "I hope that you can forgive me for what I said and how I've acted."

"Of course." Gendry said immediately. "I know you were just trying to look out for Arya."

She stood from the table and came around to wrap her arms around him, he was a little surprised by the action but returned the hug quickly. She pulled back and ran her hand over his cheek in a motherly gesture as she smiled at him.

"I think you'll make a wonderful father, Gendry." She told him before she pulled away and nodded at the mugs on the table. "You should get those upstairs before they go cold."

He stood and took the mugs from the table as she moved to sit back down with her cup of tea and left the kitchen in a bit of a daze. Arya's mother was the last person he expected to apologize to him and it left him feeling like he was in a dream but he knew it was real. Her family had seemingly gotten over the initial shock and anger at the pregnancy and were all ready to embrace it which made him happy. He knew Arya valued their opinion even if she'd never admit it and he could see the strain it had put on her when they'd reacted badly so he was glad that all of them seemed to be handling it better now. He was also glad that they all seemed to be taking his involvement in it well too. He needed to work things out with Jon but everything else seemed to have fallen into place. Now all he needed to do was the one thing that seemingly everyone was telling him to. He needed to tell Arya he was in love with her.


	11. Chapter 11

Arya woke the day of Jon's party early in the morning. She knew that it was likely due to her going to sleep so early the night before but when she couldn't get back to sleep she scooted away from Gendry and slipped from the bed to get dressed quietly. The sun was just peaking over the horizon when she gathered the mugs Gendry had brought up the night before and left the room to take them back downstairs. She hadn't expected anyone to be up yet but when she stepped into the kitchen, she found Jon. She didn't say anything as she loaded the mugs into the dishwasher, remembering that she'd told Gendry she'd let him handle the situation, but when she turned around she found Jon staring at her and couldn't hold her tongue anymore.

"You shouldn't be so hard on him." She said seriously. "He's your friend."

"He took advantage of you." Jon answered immediately.

"When?" She asked, her brows furrowing.

"When he decided it was okay to sleep with you when you were drunk." Jon said and she rolled her eyes.

"Are you being serious right now?" She asked. "Gendry and I have been friends since I was nine years old, we've gotten drunk together plenty of times. If he wanted to take advantage of me, he would have long before now, but you know as well as I do that he isn't that kind of guy. He'd never do anything I didn't want."

"Maybe you didn't know what you wanted." Jon said, a stubborn set to his face.

"I'm a grown woman Jon!" She exclaimed. "I know very well what I do and don't want and I don't need you to defend me. I know you're just trying to look out for me and I appreciate it, but pull your head out of your ass. He's been your friend for as long as he's been mine, hell even longer, don't let this ruin it."

"How can I not?" Jon asked, frustration clear in his tone. "You're my little sister and he got you pregnant."

"So?" Arya shrugged. "Does that suddenly mean that you can't be friends?"

"Yes." Jon nodded. "I can never look at him again without seeing his father after this. He got drunk and knocked someone up, just like Robert Baratheon, and we all know that man is a piece of shit. I know he's dad's friend but I've never liked him and I know you feel the same, so tell me, what are you going to do when Gendry leaves you high and dry just like his father did to so many women?"

"I can't believe you'd even say something like that." She said angrily. "Gendry is nothing like his father and he never has been. For you to even say that, it tells me that you never even knew him at all. He'd never walk away and leave me on my own, and even if he did it wouldn't make him like his father because the baby isn't even his!"

"What?!" Jon's eyes whipped over to stare at her intensely making her realize what she'd revealed in her anger, leaving her gaping like a fish and Jon with a stunned expression on his face. "It's not his?"

"No." Arya said, her voice quiet as the anger drained out of her, replaced by the shock.

"Does Gendry know that?" Jon asked cautiously, his voice softer than before.

"He knows." She told him. "He agreed to say he was the father when I first told him I was pregnant because I didn't want to tell mum that I didn't know who the father was. He's taken the brunt of everyone's judgement without complaint when he didn't have to."

"And you didn't think to tell me about that?" Jon asked.

"Only a few people know the truth." Arya shrugged. " We wanted it to be believable and the less people who knew, the better it would be. I didn't expect _you_ of all people to react so badly to the news."

"Oh." Jon said sheepishly. "I'm sorry I've been acting so crazy about it, I didn't realize the situation."

"It's not me you should say sorry to." She said pointedly as she raised an eyebrow. "You know Gendry, you know he's a good guy, and frankly the things you just said about him warrant an apology of their own outside of the stupidity of the rest of your reaction. And besides, even if it was true and he was the father, your reaction was the wrong one. Gendry and I can make whatever decisions we want about our relationship without your approval and you don't get to have a say in it. Whatever happens between us, now or in the future, is none of your concern. He's your friend regardless of what happens between me and him and you're being a judgmental asshole."

"I know." Jon sighed, rubbing his hand over his face. " You're right, I've been acting really stupid."

"Yeah, you have." She agreed. "He's one of your best friends. You should talk to him."

"I will, I promise." Jon said sincerely. She nodded and moved toward the door, ready for the conversation to be over, but she paused before leaving to room.

"Seriously Jon, I can take care of myself. You shouldn't let whatever relationship Gendry and I have interfere with your friendship. It's not right, to either of you." She said quietly before blowing out a breath. "And it goes without saying, what you've learned about the baby, you should keep it to yourself."

"I will." Jon said and she nodded.

"Good." She said before finally leaving the kitchen to make her way back upstairs. She hadn't meant for the truth to come out of her mouth but she'd never been particularly good at lying to Jon, especially if they were fighting. She just hoped that Gendry wouldn't be angry at the fact that Jon knew.

* * *

Arya didn't get a chance to talk to Gendry about the fact that Jon was now in on their secret before the party was in full swing, having got caught up in decorating the house alongside her siblings, so she resolved to speak to him later. Many of Jon's friends from the Wall had made the trek down to Winterfell for the party and Arya had caught sight of Robert Baratheon lurking near the drinks table making the house seem extra full as they crammed in alongside her family. 

Arya met Sam and Gilly in the first ten minutes of the party, having been introduced by Jon before he had been dragged away, and she'd stuck to them for a time. She was fond of Gilly and her sweet nature so she didn't mind spending a large amount of time with her. Gendry had wondered off with Rickon after a while and she'd tried to keep her eye on him as he moved through the room, keeping a check on his mood, but when she became distracted for a moment she lost him in the crowd.

She had to trust that he could handle himself with whoever he came across, though she knew he could sometimes put out a vibe of anger when surrounded by large groups, so she hoped that he didn't accidentally offend someone. She knew that he sometimes, or _most_ of the time really, lacked a filter. It was one of the reasons that she liked him so much, because he wasn't afraid to speak his mind no matter who he was speaking to, but she didn't think that Jon's birthday party was the best place for that.

Her eyes searched the room as she finally separated from Sam and Gilly, looking for Gendry once more. She round Rickon by the snacks with Bran, alerting her to the fact that Gendry was no longer with him, moments before she noticed him coming out of the room that served as her father's office with his father behind him. He looked angry, his face set with harsh lines as his lips pressed together, but he softened when he noticed her.

"You alright?" She asked quietly when he came to a stop in front of her, her eyes darting to look at his father for a moment. He had began a conversation with her own father, his flushed cheeks letting her know that he was already in his cups even as the party had only started an hour ago. He'd probably shown up already drunk.

"Fine." He said, the word coming out harsh. He flinched slightly when he noticed and gave her an apologetic look.

"You sure?" She asked and he nodded.

"Nothing to worry about." He said. "Let's just enjoy the party."

They moved to the snack table alongside Rickon and Bran after that, Arya snagging a cupcake to lick the icing off as Gendry laughed at her, and the conversation was forgotten. The music was playing loudly, thumping through the walls, and Arya was almost certain that her mother hadn't been consulted for the track list as it contained many songs with heavy profanity. Arya didn't think Jon was even aware of the track list before now as it wasn't the type of music he listened to either and Arya began to suspect it was Rickon. He cursed even more than she did and every time she caught a glimpse of him, he was bopping along with the music and mouthing the words. After a while though, the music faded to background noise as she got used to it.

Gendry stuck close to her side after his conversation with his father and she knew it was likely an attempt to dissuade another one, though Robert seemed less than inclined to talk to them as the party went on and he kept drinking. She noticed that her father stayed close to his side as if he expected the man to do something that he'd have to interfere in. She did her best to ignore them.

Jon's friends from the Wall got rowdier as the party went on as well and Arya could see her mother fussing about in the corners of the room obviously trying to keep some semblance of control by cleaning up the beer bottles and used plates. The rowdiness didn't get too out of hand though in Arya's opinion considering that the room was full of twenty somethings full of alcohol and she credited that to the fact that there were also children in attendance so no one was trying to get too messy around them.

Lya and Sera had been delighted by Sam and Gilly's son and were spinning him around in the center of the living room, his little toddler legs making him fall more than actually spin, but he was laughing the whole while so she figured that he wasn't actually being hurt by her nieces and felt no need to intercede. She hoped that the curse words from the songs weren't sticking in the children's minds as they danced along, though she was almost sure that they were only really listening to the beat. 

"You want me to get you a drink?" Gendry asked, leaning into her as he held up his empty glass obviously indicating that he was going to get himself another one. 

"I'm pregnant." She said, raising an eyebrow at him. He rolled his eyes.

"Not an alcoholic one obviously." He said, fond exasperation in his voice. "I thought you might like a soda or something."

"Sure." She shrugged. "It's thirsty work watching my siblings attempt to dance."

She motioned toward the living room, where just past the children her siblings were all dancing with their significant others, Sansa being the only one managing even a little bit of grace. She gave Bran a pass as his wheelchair made it difficult for him to dance anyway but the way he was waving his arms around made her grin at the absolute travesty of it. Meera seemed to agree with her, if the look on her face was anything to go by, but the fondness underneath it showed Arya that she didn't actually mind.

"Are you saying you could do better?" Gendry asked.

"I definitely could. I trained as a dancer for years, if you recall." She snarked, glancing at him with a smirk. "Though, I imagine you'd be just as bad as they are."

"Hey!" He said, shoving her lightly. She laughed and shoved him back with more force.

"Go on. Get me a drink." She said. He stuck his tongue out at her before turning to go into the kitchen making her laugh even harder.

She turned her attention back to her siblings and their embarrassing display, the sight making her smile as she could see that they were entirely comfortable with their partners. It made her happy to see that they all had seemingly found someone who accepted them for themselves and it made her yearn for it herself. She and Gendry had the type of relationship where they were comfortable with each other and accepted all the other had to offer with no complaints but she wanted more. She knew she needed to tell him how she was feeling and she hoped that everyone was right, that he did return the feelings, because she had realized that she wanted to build a life with him and the baby.

She was so thoroughly caught up in her thoughts that she didn't realize that Robert Baratheon had approached her until he spoke and she finally noticed that he was standing right next to her.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, glancing at her belly. 

"I'm okay." She answered hesitantly. She wasn't going to be rude to him in her parents house but she was almost certain that this was the first time he'd began a conversation with her in all the years she'd known him.

"Good. That's good." He nodded as he glanced around the room. "Listen, Gendry is being a little stubborn about the whole thing but if you need anything, just let me know."

"If I need anything?" She asked, completely confused.

"For the child." He clarified. "I could give you the money if you needed something like a car seat or a crib. I know it can be expensive."

"Oh." She said, finally understanding what he was getting at as her lips pressed together. "We're fine. Gendry and I can mange on our own."

He opened his mouth as if he was going to say something else before his eyes flickered over her shoulder.

"Offering her money now, are you?" Gendry's voice cut in. "I've already told you we can handle it. We don't need your money."

"I'm just trying to help." Robert said as Gendry moved to step slightly in front of her.

"Why? You didn't give a shit when I was a kid floating through the system. Why do you suddenly want to help now?" He snapped. Arya noticed her father stepping toward them from the corner of her eye but she didn't think anyone else had noticed the confrontation yet.

"Because I care about you." Robert said and Gendry scoffed as he shook his head.

"You don't give a shit about me." He spat, his voice raising slightly. "You don't give a shit about me because you don't have to, right? You think you can just throw money at your problems and they'll go away. Maybe if you tried to build a meaningful relationship with me, or any of your kids for that matter, instead of trying to buy us off I'd actually believe that you cared but I know you don't."

"I'm trying to help you boy!" Robert said, his loud voice finally drawing the attention of the others. 

"Help me? I don't need your fucking help. And let's not pretend that this is about me at all, this is about you, just like everything always is. You're getting old now and realizing that you've fucked up every relationship in your life so you're trying to throw your money around to make it better because that's always worked for you before. Well you know what, I can't be bought, so hang it up." Gendry shouted, taking a step toward him. "You're only concerned now because you fucked up your own life and you fucking hate yourself for it." 

Arya moved quickly to place herself between them before Gendry really lost it and hit his father. The room around them had gone quiet as everyone watched the drama unfold in front of them but she couldn't let herself worry about that right now. She placed her hands on Gendry's chest to stop him from moving anymore.

"Gendry, look at me." She commanded. He was still glaring at his father and for a moment she thought he would ignore her but then his eyes finally flitted down to meet hers. "Walk away, okay? Just walk away."

They stared at each other for a long moment, seemingly suspended in time, before his eyes left hers once more to go back to his father.

"Stay the _fuck_ out of my life." He spat harshly. "I don't need you and neither does my kid."

She pushed his shoulders lightly to get him to turn away from his father before pulling him toward the stairs. They left the party and the aftermath of the argument behind them as she dragged him up to her room and closed the door firmly behind them. He moved away from her the moment they were inside to sit on the edge of the bed as he ran his hands over his face and blew out a breath.

She moved to stand in front of him, forcing his legs apart so she could stand between them as she wrapped her arms around him in a hug. He pressed his face into her neck as she began to run her fingers through his hair in a comforting gesture and they stayed in that position until he finally pulled back to look at her.

"I'm sorry." He said softly and she shook her head.

"It's okay." She answered, her voice just as soft. "The question is, are you?"

"He just makes me so angry." He breathed out. "He thinks he can make everything better with money like that's the only thing that matters."

"I know." She said. He looked up to meet her eyes, his hands on either side of her bump.

"He keeps implying that we can't take care of our own kid. Like he thinks we need his help." He said and she nodded as she studied his face.

"Our kid?" She asked softly and she could see the pinched expression on his face at her words. He seemed to be thinking about something intensely before he blew out another long breath and began speaking.

"I don't care who's baby it actually is. DNA doesn't mean anything." He said seriously. "DNA made me related to that asshole downstairs, it's worthless. But being there, being a father, _that_ matters. I want to be there for this baby, no matter what, and I want to be there for you. I want our lie to not _be_ a lie. I want to be a father, _a real father_ , to this baby if you'll let me. Can I do that, Arry? Please."

She stared at him, looking for any hint of a lie or hesitation, but she only found sincerity and pleading in his gaze. There was hope buried in there as well, hope that she wouldn't turn him down, and it made her heart skip a beat as she absorbed the words.

"Yeah." She answered finally, brushing her hand through his hair again. "You can do that."

Their eyes met again, neither of them speaking as they both processed what they'd just decided, and she saw something in his gaze change. She couldn't pinpoint what exactly it was that had changed in that moment but suddenly the air between them seemed charged and she sucked in a slight breath.

"Arya I..." His voice came out soft and reverent as his eyes flickered to her lips and she leaned toward him without a conscious thought until they were so close she could feel his breath on her lips. If either one of them moved even slightly their lips would touch and she _wanted_ it. She thought about it, thought about moving that last bit and capturing his lips with her own, but she never got the chance.

The knock on the door shattered the soft atmosphere around them and made her gasp as she jerked back to look at the door. Jon poked his head in, his eyes taking in their position, their bodies still much closer than was probably normal, with an expression of concern on his face. His eyes went to Gendry after a moment, seemingly ready to ignore their position while obviously aware that he'd interrupted something.

"I was hoping we could talk." He said, his voice soft and hesitant. Arya pulled away from Gendry entirely as she answered for him.

"Sure, I'll leave you two alone." She said, her eyes darting to meet Gendry's for only a moment before she dropped them to the floor as she felt a blush come over her cheeks. She left the room swiftly, escaping the eyes she could feel staring at her, glad to have an excuse to avoid talking for the moment.

She knew she was being a coward and they'd have to talk about what had just happened but she was glad for the chance to collect her thoughts. One thing was certain though, he hadn't pulled away when she'd almost kissed him and she felt the hope in her heart grow. Maybe everyone had been right the whole time. 


	12. Chapter 12

An awkward silence fell over the room with Arya's departure leaving Jon and Gendry to stare at each other for a long moment. Gendry almost wanted to follow after Arya and finish _whatever_ had been about to happen between them but Jon had a guilty apologetic look on his face that made him pause. He stood from the bed and led Jon out onto the balcony attached to Arya's bedroom and Jon blew out a long breath.

"Thinking of pushing me off?" He asked. Gendry turned to him and rolled his eyes.

"You're Arya's favorite brother, she'd never forgive me for that." He said, an edge of teasing in his voice that seemed to make Jon relax as the tension left his shoulders and he came to stand next to Gendry at the railing. "Even if she is pissed at you right now."

"She has a right to be." Jon said quietly, glancing over to meet his eyes. "I've been acting stupid about this whole thing. She's a grown woman, as she pointed out to me, and she can make her own decisions. So can you. I never should have said what I did, I'm sorry."

"I know." Gendry shrugged lightly. He'd known all along that Jon was just trying to protect his sister and he couldn't fault him for it even if he'd gone about it in a completely stupid way. They were quiet for another moment both staring out onto the lawn, the drive was full of cars and the music floated up to them from downstairs making Gendry notice that someone had finally changed it, probably Catelyn. "I'm sorry for making a scene at the party."

"Don't worry about it." Jon said immediately. "I know things aren't great between you and your father and he was obviously drunk. Dad called a car to take him home after you and Arya came upstairs. We probably should have done it sooner."

"No one's angry with me?" Gendry asked. "I just got their approval back after the bombshell of the pregnancy was dropped, I'd hate to lose it again."

"No one's mad. Most of them understand it, they know what Robert is like." Jon shrugged. "I think Catelyn's actually thankful for it because it gave her an excuse to get him out of the house without straight up telling him to leave."

"She really doesn't like him." Gendry grinned.

"No she does not." Jon said, the same grin crossing his face before he got serious again and turned to face Gendry fully making him look at him with a raised eyebrow. "Arya told me."

"Told you what?" Gendry asked, even though he was pretty sure he knew what he was talking about.

"About the baby." Jon said, confirming his suspicions. "She didn't mean to, I don't think, but she was yelling at me this morning for being an idiot and it just kind of came out."

"And?" Gendry asked. Jon shrugged.

"You didn't have to take responsibility for it, you didn't have to let all of us believe it, but you did. Why?" He asked and Gendry looked away from him.

"She was so anxious about telling Catelyn that she didn't know who the father was and I hate seeing her like that. She's my best friend and I thought it wouldn't be a big deal to let people believe it." He shrugged. "The whole thing has gotten a bit more complicated than I anticipated."

"In what way?" Jon asked, genuine curiosity in his voice.

"I didn't expect it to make me feel the way I do." Gendry told him honestly. 

"You love her." Jon said and it obviously wasn't a question.

"I think I do." He answered anyway. "And I don't know if I've always felt this way or I've just started feeling it in the last few months but now it's like I want everything with her. A family, a life, all of it, and I'm not sure how to tell her that. I don't want to go in too far too fast and freak her out."

"You won't." Jon said, sounding sure.

"How do you know that?" He asked and Jon smiled.

"Because I know my sister. We've always been the closest of our siblings and I can read her better than almost anyone." He said. "And she loves you in the same way that you love her. If you tell her what you just told me, I promise you she won't freak out."

"Will _you_?" Gendry asked teasingly, trying to break the serious atmosphere around them. He'd think about what Jon had said later but right now he didn't want to think about anything too serious or potentially life changing.

"No." Jon laughed. "Arya already told me to mind my own business and let you two make your own decisions about your relationship so I'll stay out of this one. I really don't want to get on her bad side right now."

"She really said that?" Gendry asked with a laugh.

"More or less. She also told me to pull my head out of my ass so there's that." Jon said and they both laughed even more. Arya certainly had a way with words, especially when she was irritated. After a moment Jon calmed down and clapped his hand on Gendry's shoulder. "Seriously though, I think the two of you will be good together. You already act like an old married couple, I don't think much will actually change."

"I suppose you're right." He said as he thought about the words. "We've lived together for years and we've got a kid on the way already, you can't get much more married than that I guess. Though, I'm almost certain that some things will change."

"I really don't want to hear about what will change." Jon said in a rush. "You may be one of my best friends but she's still my little sister."

Gendry grinned at him but didn't say anything else. No matter how close they were, or the fact that they had just made up after a fight, he knew Jon would probably still deck him if he started talking about having sex with his sister. 

"We should get back to the party." Jon said, rolling his eyes and shoving Gendry back into the house and they made their way back downstairs. He caught sight of Arya, once again by the snack table, talking to Sansa and Margaery. He decided against approaching her for the time being, the moment between them in her bedroom still bright in bis mind, and instead let Jon drag him over to his friends from the Wall. He and Arya could talk later, when there were less prying eyes and listening ears.

* * *

The party went late into the night before ending. The couples with children had left far before the others to put their kids to bed and it started dwindling slowly after that until it was just a small group of guys sitting around the table and playing cards. Gendry was hyper-aware of when Arya left to go upstairs but he forced himself to stay in his seat, delaying their much needed conversation for a little while longer, but finally even Jon called it a night and he was left with no other option.

He had expected Arya to be asleep already when he got upstairs given the hour but she was sitting on the bed, leaned against the headboard, with a book in her hands. He could see from the cover that it was one of the baby books she had bought over the course of the last couple of months. He readied himself for bed, aware of her eyes following him, until he finally came to slide into bed next to her. 

"Party over?" She asked quietly, sitting her book aside.

"Yeah." He said, glancing over at her finally. Their eyes met and he found he couldn't look away from her so he cleared his throat. "So."

"So?" She said, the lilt in her voice making it a question as she raised an eyebrow. He shifted closer to her and took a deep breath.

"I just want to try something." He said gently, his hand coming up to cradle her face. She was staring at him intently, obviously waiting for him to make a move, and he forced himself to do it before he lost his nerve. Their lips touched and she gasped softly, freezing in place, and he wondered for a moment if he'd read the situation wrong the entire time but just as he was about to pull back and apologize she surged forward.

Her hands sank into his hair as she kissed him passionately and he pulled her over into his lap. She settled with a knee on either side of him and he felt her belly brush against him lightly, a reminder of the growing life inside her, and their kiss slowed. Their kiss became soft and gentle and when she finally pulled back to take a breath she had a small smile on her face.

"We should have been doing that a long time ago." She breathed out and he laughed softly.

"I'm inclined to agree." He said as they stared at each other for a long moment, both with happy smiles, before her eyes turned serious.

"We should talk about it though. What this means." She said and he nodded. He ran his thumb over her cheek gently, his hand still cradling her face, and she turned her face into the motion.

"Arry." He said her name softly, a serious undertone to his words, as he thought about his conversation with Jon. He knew he needed to tell her how he felt and he hoped that Jon was right and it didn't freak her out. "I care about you, more than I've ever cared about anyone, and I don't want to lose you but I need to tell you how I feel and I hope that you're okay with what I'm about to say. I love you, and I mean that in more than just a friendly manner. You're my family and I want to build a life with you and this baby and any more children we may have. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, and only you, if you'll have me."

Her eyes were wide and watery as she stared at him and he could see her processing his words in her mind and what they meant. She sniffled lightly and he began to worry about her crying at his declaration of love as she buried her face in his neck, her arms wrapped around him tightly. He stroked her hair gently, murmuring apologies even as he wasn't sure what had set her off, until she finally seemed to get a hold of herself.

"Why are you apologizing?" She asked as she pulled back from him.

"I obviously upset you." He said. She shook her head.

"You didn't." She told him and he raised an eyebrow.

"You're crying." He said.

"I'm emotional." She said easily. "Hormones."

He nodded in acknowledgement before he cleared his throat again.

"It's okay if you don't feel the same." He told her, even though the words felt like they were slicing him open as he said them.

"I do." She said quickly, grabbing his face in both hands making him jump in surprise as his eyes flew back to hers. "I feel the same. I want to build a life with you too, I want all of it with you, but..."

"But?" He asked, his heart beating quickly in his chest.

"This is going to change our relationship, in ways we probably aren't going to expect, so I think we should take it slow." She said quietly. "We already know everything about each other so it's not like other relationships where they're starting from scratch and learning new things about each other but I still think it's important for us to take our time with it."

"You're right." He said. She had a solid point. "We'll take it one day at a time."

"Good." She nodded before her eyes dropped to his lips once more. "But there's no reason we have to stop doing this."

"I agree." He said with a grin before pulling her back in.

They spent quiet a bit of time making out on her childhood bed like they were still horny teenagers and he couldn't bring himself to regret it one bit. Kissing Arya felt like something he'd been waiting to do all his life without realizing and now that he was, it just felt _right_. Like this is what they'd been meant to be doing all along.


	13. Chapter 13

After spending the weekend with her family for Jon's birthday, everything seemed to go smoothly from there on. Her family had finally fully accepted the pregnancy and weren't pushing for her and Gendry to get married anymore which she saw as a big step, especially for her mother. She'd even hugged Gendry goodbye when they'd packed everything into the car to leave which seemed to surprise him but she saw the smile he tried to hide when they finally did leave. Being back in their flat was nice though and it allowed them to start exploring their changing relationship without the possibility of being interrupted by her family.

Not much changed really. They still ordered in and binge watched TV shows on Netflix together only now she could lean over and kiss him whenever she got the urge. They had also developed the habit of kissing each other goodbye when they left the flat or in greeting whenever one of them returned. The issue came when their kissing became a bit more heated and their hands started wondering. Gendry would always stop it before it went too far and she knew he was trying to respect her rule about taking it slow between them but she was starting to seriously regret making it in the first place.

She was sexually frustrated, which according to the books she read was common as she was going into her fifth month, and she just wanted him to touch her but was too stubborn to actually tell him after she'd made her rule in the first place. She was coming to realize that the rule was a bit stupid because they'd been acting almost like a couple almost the entire time they'd lived together, just without the physical aspect of it, and it made her feel a bit stupid for not realizing it sooner. She tried to take care of it herself, waiting until it was dark out and she was sure he was asleep in his own room before reaching under the covers to touch herself, but with her belly in the way she could never quite get the right angle making her even more frustrated than she'd started.

Poor Ned took the brunt of her frustration when she returned to work as she snapped at him more than she really meant to but he took it without complaint. She could tell that Gendry knew she was agitated but he didn't seem to know why which she was both relieved and annoyed by. Relieved because she certainly didn't want to have to explain it to him and annoyed because if he knew what it was about he might offer to help her and she could accept. 

She tried to push the thoughts out of her head as she and Gendry made their way inside her doctor's office for a visit. He'd insisted on coming and she couldn't say no so she'd allowed him to tag along. Davos had given him the morning off so he could come with her, which they'd both thanked him for, and he'd waved them off with a smile. He'd also given Arya a soft grey blanket for the baby, explaining to them that his wife had knitted it after he'd told her about the pregnancy.

As they were sitting in the waiting room, Arya noticed Gendry's leg bouncing lightly as he looked around at all of the posters on the walls and she moved her hand over his knee to stop the movement. He glanced at her and she gave him a small smile of reassurance, she could tell he was nervous, and he took her hand in his and intertwined their fingers. It was only a few minutes later that her name was called and they were led back to a room where she climbed up to sit on the exam table immediately as Gendry hovered next to her awkwardly rather than sitting in the chairs against the wall.

The nurse checked her vitals quickly, noting them down in her patient folder before leaving them in the silence of the room. The ultrasound machine was already set up in the corner of them room and she saw Gendry studying it curiously.

"You alright?" She asked and his eyes came to settle on her. "You seem a bit nervous."

"I'm okay." He said. "It's just strange to think about I guess. You have a little human growing inside you and we're about to use a machine to see it. You have to admit that it's all a bit unbelievable."

"Yeah." She laughed softly. "It kind of is strange if you think about it too much. I'm growing a whole new person, who will have their own thoughts and feelings as they grow, it's amazing and kind of terrifying."

"Absolutely terrifying." He teased. "Any kid with your DNA is bound to be a menace. Once they learn to walk, we'll never be able to rest again."

"That is just rude." She pouted and he grinned as he kissed her.

"I can't wait to meet them." He said softly as he leaned back from her and she smiled.

"Me either." She admitted.

At that moment, her doctor entered the room and Arya noticed her eyes widen slightly when she saw Gendry but she schooled her face immediately afterword. Arya knew she was likely wondering who he was since she'd told her at the first visit that the father wouldn't be involved bit she figured that the woman was too polite to actually ask. Arya figured that she'd just assume things had changed. 

"This is Gendry." Arya said, getting it out of the way so they could move on with the appointment. Her doctor reached out a hand to shake his firmly.

"Dad, I presume?" She asked and Gendry nodded immediately.

"Yes." He answered politely.

" Well, it's nice to meet you." She said with a smile before she sat down on her rolling chair with the patient file in her hands and turned to Arya. "So, how have things been since I saw you last?"

"Good." Arya told her. 

"Still no morning sickness or anything like that?" She asked and Arya shrugged.

"Not that I've noticed. I guess I just got lucky in that aspect." She said and her doctor smiled at her.

"I guess so." She replied. "Nothing else bothering you. No issues we need to discuss."

"Nope." Arya said and her doctor nodded.

"Good." She said, making a note on her file before sitting it on the counter and dragging the ultrasound machine over beside the bed and turning it on. Arya laid back on the bed and pulled her shirt up, already used to the routine.

Her doctor squeezed the gel out onto her belly and pressed the wand down firmly as she pressed buttons on the monitor with her other hand. Arya noticed her taking measurements of the baby as she moved the wand around and Gendry was watching it all intensely. Finally, she seemed to have finished and she turned the monitor so that they could see the baby themselves and she heard Gendry let out a rush of breath.

"Baby's growing nicely, right on track for where they should be." She told them with a smile. "I think today we could find out the sex, if that's something you want to do."

"That'd be great." Arya said eagerly as she squeezed Gendry's hand.

"Alright, let's see what we can do." She said with a smile. She moved the wand around until she seemed to find what she was looking for. It all looked indecipherable to Arya, though she did notice the baby's foot on the screen for a moment, but finally the doctor pushed a button and the screen seemed to pause. Arya knew she was taking a picture as she pulled it up once more. "It's a girl."

"Gods Arry, you were right." Gendry breathed out as he watched the doctor point it out to them and she smiled.

"Did you doubt me?" She asked playfully and he finally looked away from the screen to smile at her.

"Never." He said. "Remember, I told you I'd bet on it when you said you thought it was a girl."

"Fair enough." She said with a grin. "Sansa's going to be so excited."

"Would you guys like to hear the heartbeat?" The doctor asked, watching them with a smile.

"Yes. Definitely." Gendry said before Arya had a chance to answer and she smiled at the excitement in his voice. Her doctor pushed a few more buttons and suddenly the room, was filled with the soft rhythmic whooshing sound that Arya had become familiar with in her visits. Gendry seemed in awe of it as he breathed out. "That's amazing."

"It really is, isn't it?" She said quietly.

The doctor allowed them to listen to the sound for a minute before she turned it off and printed out the pictures she'd taken for them to keep. One of them had an arrow pointing to the baby and proclaiming 'It's a girl', which made Arya smile. They concluded the visit not long after, scheduling the next one for the next month before they left the office, and Arya noticed Gendry slip one of the ultrasound pictures into his wallet. It made her happy to know that he'd actually meant it when he said he wanted to be a father to her baby. He referred to himself as the father now even when it was just the two of them and she found that she was glad her baby would have a father as good as Gendry.

* * *

They had stopped for brunch before Gendry dropped her off at their flat and headed into work but now she was alone and bored. She didn't have to go into work that day but all of her friends had so she couldn't even call one of them to hang out with. Finally, after searching through the channels and finding nothing to watch, she decided to just take a bath and relax for a time.

She filled up the tub with warm water and the vanilla and sandalwood bubble bath she liked before hooking her phone to a portable speaker and playing soft music from it. She pulled her hair up into a bun so it wouldn't get wet and stripped off before sinking into the water, letting her head fall back against the edge of the tub, and breathing out a long sigh as she closed her eyes.

Her mind drifted as she sat there and, as it had been doing for the last few weeks, settled on Gendry. She could picture him in her mind with no issue, his bright blue eyes and dark hair crystal clear in her thoughts, and she breathed out heavily as her mind started wondering into dangerous territory. She thought about his hands on her, gentle even as he took her roughly, and she felt a familiar ache between her legs.

She let her hand drift down as she parted her legs. She used her fingers to part her lips before she pressed one into her aching center, a small muffled moan leaving her mouth. It didn't take her long to add a second finger and she pushed them in and out quickly, the water rippling around her, as she kept the image of Gendry solid in her mind. She pressed her thumb against her clit as her other hand gripped the edge of the tub and her hips jerked forward.

She felt the pressure building and she was brought right to the edge but she could manage to bring herself to completion. She knew if she just had a little more, if she could just go a little deeper, it would tip her over the edge but no matter how she moved her fingers she couldn't seem to reach her peak. She whined in frustration as she jerked her hips but just as quickly as she felt the pressure building, it faded away and she pulled her hand away from herself as she sucked in deep breaths. She wanted to scream but instead she just flopped back against the tub in annoyance.

She forced her mind away from sex, instead focusing on clearing her mind, hoping the meditation would help with her frustration. It worked to an extent as she was able to relax her body and almost float in the water, though she was still left sexually wanting, and she finally left the tub when the water had started cooling around her. She let the water out of the tub before wrapping herself in a towel and grabbing the speaker and her phone before padding across the hall to her bedroom. She didn't bother getting fully dressed and instead slipped on a pair of panties and pulling one of Gendry's sweaters over her head. It hang down to the middle of her thighs and the warm lining made her feel cozy in it. It also had the added bonus that it still smelled like Gendry as he'd worn it only recently and it still had the cologne he used lingering on it.

After she'd left the bath, she still found no interest in the TV so she decided to distract her mind in another way and moved to the kitchen to make a batch of blueberry muffins. She laid out all the ingredients and started from scratch. She felt quite accomplished as she slid the muffin tin into the oven, having managed to clear her thoughts completely as she'd been making them, and she cleaned the counter happily.

Her mood had improved massively as the smell of the muffins baking took over the flat. She happily prepared dinner, a simple meal of pasta with meatballs, and even hummed under her breath as she did so. When Gendry finally made it home, she was still in the kitchen setting the muffins out to cool with music playing from her phone. He smiled as he moved toward her to press a kiss to the side of her head as he wrapped his arms around her.

"You know, you were the last person I ever expected to _actually_ see barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen." He said, chuckling lightly. She stepped on his toe deliberately for that comment but he didn't seem to mind as he just spun her in his arms and placed a sound kiss on her lips.

"How was your day?" She asked as she pulled away from him to get plates from the cabinet.

"Good." He said, moving around her easily to grab glasses as she filled their plates with food. "Davos was right about us getting more commissions after people saw my work with the Kingsguard armor. We've gotten so many that it'll likely take me quite a few weeks to get them all completed."

"That's good." She told him honestly. "It's nice that you're finally getting recognition for your work and the commissions will bring quite a bit of money in I assume."

"Yeah, they will." He confirmed as they sat down at the breakfast bar. "It'll be great for the company, Davos is quite happy with it. How was the rest of your day?"

"Boring." She said, desperately trying not to remember her frustration but his close proximity brought it back to her mind anyway. "Everyone else was at work so I just stayed here. Took a bath, baked some muffins, nothing too exciting."

"Sounds relaxing." He commented and she shrugged even as she thought, _Not really_. "Anyway, I was thinking about names today."

"Names?" She asked. "For the baby?"

"Kind of." He said, rubbing the back of his neck as he stared at her seriously. "We'll obviously decide her first name together but I was hoping to talk to you about her last name."

"Her last name?" Arya asked, confused as to why he was bringing it up.

"Look, I know my father is a piece of shit but when he finally decided to acknowledge me, my last name became Baratheon, just like my siblings' did." He said quietly. "And I know the Baratheon name has some negative connotations due to my father but it's not all bad. My uncles aren't so bad, even if Stannis doesn't know how to crack a smile, and my siblings are great, most of them anyway."

"What exactly are you asking me?" She questioned. She was pretty sure she knew but she wanted him to say it plainly so she'd know they were both on the same page.

"We're not married so you have the right to name her whatever you want, to give her the Stark name if you choose, but I'd really like if you would consider giving her my last name." He said.

"You'd be okay with that?" She asked quietly.

"I told you, I'm in Arya. All the way." He said. "She's my daughter, just like she's yours."

"Okay then." She said with a nod. "We'll give her the Baratheon name."

"Just like that?" He asked.

"Just like that." She confirmed. "You're choosing to be in her life, to be her father, and that's important. She should have some part of you even if you don't share DNA, so we'll give her this."

"Thank you." He said, leaning over to kiss her. 

"Of course." She smiled.

* * *

They moved to the couch after finishing dinner and she found herself once again ignoring the TV, this time though it wasn't because of what was on. Gendry had wrapped his arm around her as he usually did and he seemed interested in what was on but she found she couldn't focus on it. The heat from his body pressing against her made her breathing a bit shallower and his hand playing absently with the ends of her hair was driving her crazy.

She felt like a teenager all over again. He was barely touching her and still her body was strung as tight as a bow string as she practically vibrated with want. She shifted slightly as she felt heat pool between her legs and that caught Gendry's attention.

"Alright? You look a bit flushed." He asked as his eyes flickered over her face. She let out a long breath and decided to just say fuck it.

"Touch me." She said, her voice low and his brow wrinkled.

"What?" He asked and she moved to settle over his lap, effectively blocking his view of the TV.

"I _need_ you to touch me." She breathed out. "I need to get off and I can't do it by myself."

"What about going slow?" He asked, but his eyes had darkened and his hands hand settled firmly on her hips.

"I don't care." She said before she crashed their lips together. His hands tightened on her hips slightly and she gripped his shoulders as she rocked her hips forward on his lap.

He made a soft sound as his hands left her hips to slip under the sweater she was wearing, his fingers running along her skin making her shiver, and she pulled out of the kiss to suck in a breath. His lips started trailing down her neck almost immediately and he sucked on the spot just below her ear sending sparks down her spine and a soft moan fell from her lips as she rocked her hips more firmly against him.

One of his hands slipped down and she felt his fingers brush against her over her panties making her breath leave her in a rush. He pulled back to meet her eyes, his fingers pressing against her firmly.

"Okay?" He asked and she nodded jerkily.

"Touch me." She repeated as she rocked her hips lightly and her voice fell into a whine. " _Please_."

He pulled her in for a deep kiss, nibbling along her bottom lip until she opened for him and he pushed his tongue into her mouth. He pushed her panties to the side and gripped her hip with his other hand before pressing two fingers into her. She moaned low in her throat, the sound muffled by his lips, as he started moving his fingers in and out of her. He started slowly but his movements picked up speed quickly as she rolled her hips and she ripped her mouth away from his as her breath came in gasps.

He pushed at her sweater with his free hand until she yanked it over her head and threw it onto the couch beside them leaving her almost completely bare. He brushed his thumb over her nipple and she sucked in a gasp, much more sensitive than she was used to being, and he began to tease her nipples into hard peaks. He leaned over to run his tongue around them as he curled his fingers inside her and the movement made her see stars. Her hand shot out to grab his wrist as she let out a low moan.

"There." She breathed out roughly. He curled his fingers once more, hitting that spot again, and her head fell back as she sucked in harsh breaths. " _Fuck_. Please, please, please." 

"I've got you." He said as he pressed against that spot inside her and began rubbing circles against it while pressing his thumb firmly against her clit. Her hips moved jerkily as her hands curled into the back of the sofa when she felt the pressure inside her start growing. His mouth went back to that spot just below her ear and with a few more movements of his fingers, the pressure burst and pleasure enveloped her entire body.

Her breath came out in a long moan as she clenched tight around his fingers and her hands gripped the sofa tightly as she buried her face in his neck. Her body broke out in goosebumps and she felt a bit shaky. She registered Gendry pulling his fingers out of her and pressing soft kisses to her skin but it still took her another few moments before she was able to pull her face away from his neck to look at him. She kissed him hard and he returned it with enthusiasm.

"Thanks for that." She breathed out and her voice had an almost drunken quality to it. He grinned at her.

"Anytime." He said.

"You're really good at that." She said, placing another kiss against his lips. "We should do it more."

"Right now?" He asked and she shook her head as her hand trailed down his chest to press against his obvious erection.

"No." She said, sliding off his lap and onto the floor as she pulled at the waist band of his sweatpants. "Right now, it's your turn."

"Arya, you don't have to." He said seriously. She grinned up at him.

"I know that." She said. "But I want to. You gave me a great orgasm, I wanna do the same for you."

His cock sprang free of his pants in that moment and she wrapped her hand around it and pumped it a few times. A sigh fell from his lips and she looked up to meet his eyes before she leaned forward and swirled her tongue around the head of his cock before she took him fully into her mouth. His hand immediately sank into her hair as his head fell back against the couch as a groan left his lips.

He was too big for her to fit him into her mouth fully so she used one hand to move along the base of his shaft as she bobbed her head. She traced the lines of his veins with her tongue before pulling almost all the way off to swirl around the head again. She hallowed her cheeks, sucking lightly as she used her other hand to play with his balls, and she relished the sounds she was dragging from him.

His hips jerked and he hit the back of her throat unexpectedly. She made a sound of surprise as her hands moved to his hips quickly to stop his movement but to her surprise it didn't trigger her gag reflex at all.

"Sorry." He gasped out and her eyes flickered up to him for a moment before she began moving again. 

She was curious how much she could take before she had to pull back so she left her hands on his hips and sank back down on him. When he hit the back of her throat this time, she was prepared for it and she made sure to breath through her nose as she took him deeper. She still didn't manage to take him fully but she managed much more that she had expected. She swirled her tongue and swallowed around him, the movement making his breath come in a puff of air as his hand tightened in her hair.

"Fuck, Arya." He breathed out. 

She began bobbing her head again, taking him deep with each movement, and it didn't take long before she heard his breathing change. He tried to pull her off of him but she pushed his hand away and let him spill his release in her mouth. She swallowed before she pulled off with a pop and wiped the spit from her mouth with the back of her hand. He jerked her up for a rough kiss which she returned easily before they pulled away both of them trying to catch their breath. They held each other tightly for a few minutes before he spoke.

"I love you." He said softly.

"I love you too."


	14. Chapter 14

Ever since their relationship evolved into a physical one, Arya had been spending a large amount of time in his bed which he certainly wasn't complaining about. Their relationship was much the same as it had been before, only the physical aspect really changing at all, and it led him to realize that he'd probably been in love with Arya for far longer than he'd even realized. They'd taken the fast track in their relationship in some aspects, as they were living together and having a kid already even when they'd just admitted they were in love with each other, but in other ways their relationship had been built over years spent together without either of them really realizing what it was. It made the transition to an actual relationship where they acknowledged that they were together simple, which he was thankful for.

Another aspect that had changed in their relationship and living arrangement was the agreement they came to for Arya to move into his room, now theirs, as they converted hers to a nursery for the baby. They'd gone through their things to make room for both of their clothes in the closet and dressers leaving them both with bags to donate and an empty room to furnish before the baby came. They still had a few months to go but they had decided on getting it done sooner rather than later. He'd already repainted the walls, after getting permission from their flat manager, so the room was now a soft grey with accents in mint and light pink which Arya had decided she was going to base the room around so a lot of the accessories to the room where in those colors.

They'd decided earlier that day to go shopping to finally buy a crib so they were currently wondering around the mall, dipping in and out of the baby stores as they went, searching for one they both liked. Arya had got to the point in her pregnancy where she walked in a kind of waddle with her hand on her back which made Gendry want to grin every time he looked at her but she'd hit him more than once for it so he refrained from joking about it anymore. This was the third store they'd been in today and Arya was staring at the cribs that were on display, reading the little information cards intently, as she chewed on her lip.

"This one looks nice." He said. He was standing in front of one a few feet from the one she was looking at. "And it's grey so it'll fit with the rest of the room."

She moved toward him, picking up the card hanging from the edge to read it, as she ran her hand over the smooth surface. It was a basic crib, the kind that he'd seen many times over, but the headboard and foot board separated it from others as they were carved with stars and a moon.

"It's pretty." Arya allowed. "And the card said it's top rated in safety and by buyers."

"It's not to expensive either." Gendry added, indicating the price card underneath it. "Not so cheap that I don't trust it but not so expensive that it's impractical."

"True." Arya nodded as she studied it. "I do like it. The carvings are nice."

"What do you think?" He asked, running his hand over the edge of the crib. Arya tapped her fingers on the railing for a moment, a contemplating look on her face, before she turned to look at him with a smile and another nod.

"Let's get this one." She said finally. "It's the best one we've looked at and I do really like it."

"Alright, let's find someone to bring one out for us." He said as he glanced over the name of the crib once more before they turned to walk through the store and find an associate. The girl at the counter smiled brightly at them when they approached and immediately sent one of the other workers back to retrieve it for them so they stood to the side to wait. There didn't seem to be many customers in the store leading the cashier to start a friendly conversation with them.

"So, boy or girl?" She asked politely.

"A girl." Gendry answered immediately.

"Oh, how fun!" She exclaimed.

"I think so." Arya answered with a smile. 

"And you guys picked a great crib. My sister bought the same one when she had her first baby and now she's using the same one for her second. They just put it in storage and brought it back out, they're really sturdy. Worth the money in my opinion." She said happily.

"That's good." Gendry said politely. "Means we won't have to worry about purchasing a new one for a while."

"Yeah." They cashier said. "Have you guys bought an angel mat to go in the crib yet?"

"A what?" Arya asked as she shared a confused look with him.

"An angel mat." The girl repeated. "It goes in the crib with the baby, under the sheets on the mattress. It monitors their breathing and heartbeat as they sleep and alerts you if the stop breathing."

"That's a thing?" Gendry asked, his mind suddenly racing with all the things that could go wrong that he hadn't even considered before this very moment.

"Yeah, lots of parents buy them so they don't have to worry or they'd be up all night checking on their babies. It just eases their minds a bit." The girl smiled.

"Do you guys sell them here?" Arya asked.

"Of course." She said and Arya nodded before she turned to him with wide eyes.

"We should get one shouldn't we?" She said and he nodded, his eyes equally wide.

"I can go get one for you guys and ring it up if you'd like." The cashier said.

"That'd be great." Arya said and they girl nodded before stepping away quickly.

"Gods, so much could go wrong." Gendry breathed out. 

"Who decided being parents was a good idea?" Arya asked quietly. "I don't think I'll ever sleep again."

"It'll be fine." Gendry said, meeting her eyes seriously. "Our daughter's going to be fine, we'll make sure of it."

"This is probably the scariest thing we've ever done." She said and he laughed quietly.

"Probably." He said, forcing himself to stop thinking about everything that could happen as he moved to calm Arya down. He pressed his hand over her belly gently and smiled down at her. "But, it's totally worth it."

"Yeah." She breathed out, seeming to breath easier as she placed her hand over his. "It is, isn't it."

"Our kids gonna be great." He said.

"She definitely is." She said, grinning up at him. "How could she not be with us a parents? We're kind of awesome."

He laughed again as he leaned down to kiss her softly. He forgot the scary parts of parenthood in that moment and remembered all the good ones, like getting to hold their child in his arms and see her smile and laugh for the first time, getting to see her first steps, and all of the other amazing things that were going to happen and it didn't feel so scary anymore. Things could go wrong, he knew that even before the cashier had momentarily freaked them out by mentioning the angel mat, but he knew that they'd both do everything in their power to make sure that none of it ever did and he took comfort in that fact. 

The worker who'd been sent back to retrieve their crib came out with a large flat pack box at the same time as the cashier returned with a much smaller box that contained the angel mat and she rang them up together and allowed them to pay before the other worker followed them out to their car with the crib on a rolling cart. Gendry lifted it and easily slid it into the boot, thanking the gods that Arya's car had such a large one, before laying the angel mat on top of it and closing it as their backseat was already full of clothing and diapers that they'd bought earlier in the day. They were prepared for the baby so now all they had to do was wait.

* * *

"Fuck me!" Gendry exclaimed, as he smashed his finger trying to put the crib together. Arya was staring at him with amusement on her face from the doorway, her fingers curled around a mug of hot chocolate.

"I told you to read the directions." She said and he rolled his eyes.

"It's a damn crib, I didn't think it would be this complicated." He said and she laughed.

"Sometimes you can act like a typical guy." She told him. "Stop being so stubborn and just look at them."

She entered the room and sat her mug on the ground as she moved to sit next to him with her legs crossed. She picked up the paper with the instructions on it and began directing him on what to do. He didn't dare argue with her and insist, once again, that he could figure it out himself but instead he just begrudgingly followed her directions and thirty minutes later the crib was built. He was too proud to admit that the directions actually helped but he could see from the smug look on her face that she knew that.

He helped her to her feet before allowing her to direct him once more about where she wanted the crib to sit and he pushed it easily to the spot that she indicated. The crib had been the last thing they needed for the nursery and when he stepped back to take in the room he smiled at the finished product. Their was a cushioned rocking chair in the corner next to the window with a changing table directly to the side of it. Situated against the wall across from the door was a wardrobe that was already filled with clothing for the baby and their was a small book shelf perpendicular to it. The rug that was laid out in the center of the room was a mint color and it was soft and fuzzy. The crib had been placed against the wall across from the rocking chair. 

Arya had also been crafting a few things in her spare time so the mobile above the crib was made with yarn and had small pictures of them and their families hanging from it which he liked a lot. She had also had him install small shelves along the walls that she had placed even more pictures on, these ones bigger and framed, and only consisted of the two of them. They had many pictures together from over the years and she'd picked her favorites to display. He was amazed by how much they looked like a couple even in those photos.

He moved toward her and wrapped his arms around her settling his hands on her belly and resting his chin on her shoulder. She leaned back into him and he saw the smile on her face.

"I'm glad you're here." She said softly. "That we're doing this together."

"Me too." He answered back, just as softly. "There's nowhere else I'd rather be."

She turned in his arms to look up at him, a serious look in her eyes, and he squeezed her waist lightly.

"We're gonna make it through this aren't we?" She asked quietly, her eyes never leaving his. "You and me, our friendship?"

"Of course Arya." He said seriously. "You're always going to be my best friend, things just might be a little different now, but that's not always a bad thing."

"It's just, I know this is a lot, and I know that our circumstances are not the most normal. It's just that you've been a part of my life, been my friend, for so long that I don't want to lose you." She said. "And I love you, I do, but that's not always enough. People leave when things get hard and this, having a baby, it's one of the hardest things to do."

"Hey, listen to me." He said, cupping her face in his hands. "I'm not going to leave, ever. Even if, for some impossible reason, you and I don't work out, which I don't see happening because I love you more than I've ever loved anything, I'll never just walk away. That's not something you have to worry about."

"Promise?" She asked quietly.

"I promise." He said firmly. "I'm in this for the long haul."

He kissed her softly and she sighed happily as she leaned into him.

"I love you." He said. 

"I love you too." She returned easily.

He smiled as he turned and pulled her out of the nursery.

"So, take out?" He asked, seeing as neither of them had made dinner.

"Sure." She shrugged. "But first..."

She tugged him toward their bedroom and he followed her eagerly as she smirked at him. He took his time worshiping her body, pressing his lips to her skin, as he affirmed his promise to her. He wasn't sure how she ever thought he'd be able to walk away from her, she was everything he ever wanted, but he would spend forever convincing her he wasn't going anywhere if he had to.


	15. Chapter 15

Arya was living in leggings and long t-shirts as her belly grew and she was glad that her job allowed her to do that. She'd also developed the habit of taking her shoes off and walking around barefoot when she was explaining things to the students in her self defense class which Ned teased her about all the time. He'd also throw out name suggestions as they worked since he'd found out that she was having a girl, most of which she knew were not to be taken seriously, and it made her laugh when he pouted and tried to convince her to use particularly horrible ones when the students came in just so he could see their reactions. They'd become much better friends since he'd started helping her with her classes and he'd been to her flat a couple of times for dinner, though Gendry still didn't really like him.

That day, their class ran long leaving them both to have a late lunch before the next one was scheduled so they just decided to go together to the small cafe down the street from the studio that they taught at. Arya certainly didn't expect to encounter her sister when she stepped inside but she found Sansa, along with her coworker Brienne, getting ready to leave.

"Hey, Arya." Sansa said, bouncing over to hug her.

"Hey." She returned as she accepted the hug. "What are you doing here? Isn't your firm further uptown?"

"Yeah, but I found out that our coworker Podrick had never been here before even though he moved to the city over a year ago so I thought we'd bring him for lunch." She explained. "This is one of the better cafes in the city so I thought he should try it." 

"Well, I can't argue with that." She said giving her sister a smile as she glanced around. "And where is your coworker?"

"He went to wash his hands before we head back to work." Sansa told her and she nodded before looking at Brienne.

"How are you? We haven't seen each other in a while." She said politely and the tall woman smiled at her.

"I'm doing good. How about you?" She motioned to Arya's belly. "Sansa tells me that you're having a little girl."

"That's right. We're very excited." She answered. "We even set up the nursery already even though I've still got a couple months to go."

"Better to be prepared." Sansa put in.

"Yeah, that was my thought too." Arya nodded. "Or maybe I'm just impatient."

"Probably that." Ned nodded, making all of them laugh.

It was that moment that Sansa's coworker joined them and Arya had to fight not to gasp as her eyes went wide. As their eyes met, she was thrown back to a few months ago and a bathroom in a club, the image crystal clear in her mind in a way it hadn't been since that night, as she watched it register in his eyes before they dropped to her obvious belly. No one else around them seemed to notice their obvious scrutiny of one another but Arya felt for a moment like she couldn't breathe. Sansa's voice jerked her out of it before she had a full blown panic attack.

"Right, this is Podrick Payne." She said. "Pod, this is my sister Arya and her friend Ned."

He held out his hand for them to shake, which she did quickly before dropping it.

"It's nice to meet you." He said, his voice shy even as his eyes continued to study her.

"Yeah." She agreed quietly, her mind running a mile a minute.

"Well, anyway. We should go, we have a million things to do back at the office." Sansa said, still not having picked up on the tension between them.

She noticed his eyes still on her even as he followed her sister back out the door and she tried her best to ignore it while her mind was a jumble of panic. She went through the motions of ordering something to eat, not really paying attention, as she contemplated what to do next. She knew definitively that this guy, Podrick, was the biological father to the child she was carrying but she didn't know what she wanted to do with that information.

She'd built her family in her mind already with Gendry in the role of a father, having thought she'd never see the guy who actually fathered her child again, but now knowing that he worked with her sister there was no way she could avoid thinking further on it. She knew that he could probably deduce the time frame of her pregnancy by her appearance which was likely why he was looking at her so intently when he left so she fully expected that he knew he was the father.

She didn't want to disrupt the plan she'd built for her life and, more than that, she didn't want to hurt Gendry but she knew that she at least had to talk to Podrick about it even if she truly did not want to. She ran her hands over her face after a moment and let out a long breath.

"You alright?" Ned asked gently and she moved her hand to look at him.

"I'm fine." She answered. His face was still concerned.

"Are you sure?" He asked. "Because ever since we talked to your sister, you've been a bit quiet. You haven't really been paying attention."

"Sorry." She said, as she made an effort to shove the thoughts from her mind for the moment. "I was just thinking about something."

"If you're sure." Ned said easily but she noticed his attention on her throughout the rest of the meal.

She managed to put it mostly out of her mind when they returned to work as she forced herself to focus on the class but a small part of her brain was still agonizing over the whole thing. By the time her day ended, she had made up her mind to seek him out and discuss the pregnancy and his role in it while also deciding not to tell Gendry until she had sorted it out. She didn't want to worry him if there was nothing to worry about.

She got off work earlier than her sister did so she knew that finding Podrick would be as easy as going to her sister's firm and requesting to see him as he likely worked the same hours she did which was convenient. It did mean though, that she had to take the tram uptown to the city center where the firm was located which she absolutely hated doing. The city center was always busy no matter what time of day it was and she didn't particularly enjoy having to deal with it but this was important so she'd suck it up. When she reached her sister's office building, she stepped inside immediately and the receptionist greeted her with a smile as she came to a stop in front of the counter.

"Are you here to see your sister?" She asked politely, familiar with Arya already as she had visited Sansa here before.

"No. Actually, I was hoping to speak to Podrick Payne." She told her. "If you could call him for me."

"Of course." She nodded before she picked up the phone on her desk and typed in his extension. She spoke to him for a minute before she sat the phone back down and turned to Arya. "He'll be down in a minute to speak to you. Feel free to wait in those chairs."

She motioned to a couple of chairs sat next to a small table with magazines on it and Arya nodded as she moved toward them. Her legs bounced impatiently as she sat, the ticking clock in the corner making it impossible to ignore the passing of time, and she made an effort to try and calm her mind. The last thing she needed was to be to discombobulated to even think properly. This discussion was an important one, no matter which way it went, and she needed to remain focused.

After what felt like forever, but was really only five minutes, the elevator dinged and Podrick stepped out. She stood as he crossed the lobby but neither of them spoke as he came to a stop in front of her until she cleared her throat in an attempt to break the awkward silence.

"So, I suppose we should talk." She said finally and he nodded.

"Yeah, we definitely should." He agreed.

* * *

They ended up at a coffee shop across the street from the firm, neither of them wanting to have this discussion at his work place, leaving them sitting across from each other with their hands wrapped around their respective drinks. Arya was chewing on her lip as she studied the man across from her contemplating how to start this conversation when he spoke first.

"Listen, I'm not trying to be a dick or anything but I wasn't really expecting this." He said quietly. "Even as drunk as we were, I made sure that we were using a condom."

"Yeah, I know." She told him. "We both made sure but I think it must have broken or something."

"Weren't you on birth control?" He asked and she sighed.

"I was." She confirmed. "But my doctor thinks that the antibiotics I was taking at the time rendered it useless, so here we are."

"So, what do you want to do here?" He asked and she leaned her elbows on the table. 

"The question is, what do you want to do?" She asked. "I'm not asking for anything from you, I've already worked out everything. I have the money to support myself and my baby, and I have a boyfriend who's willing to be a father to the baby even though he knows it's not his, but you do have rights here. If you want them, I mean."

He pursed his lips as he thought about what she had said and she noticed his eyes trailing down to where her belly was semi-hidden under the table before he blew out a long breath.

"Look, if we were together things would be different but we aren't. Hell, we don't even know each other." He said softly. "We hooked up in a shitty club bathroom months ago and that's the extent of our association with one another."

"So, what are you saying?" She asked and he looked up to meet her eyes.

"I'm not ready to be a father. I don't want to be a father, even." He said seriously. "You said that you had a boyfriend who wants to be a father to your child so let him be. I'm not a bad guy, I hope this doesn't make you think that, but this isn't something I want."

"What if you change your mind?" She asked.

"I won't." He said firmly. "We can even have it drawn up in writing if you want and I'll relinquish all rights. Your sister is a partner at the firm, she can handle the paperwork, and then we can put this all behind us."

"Okay." Arya said with a nod. "I'll have her do that."

"Good." He nodded back before standing and holding out a business card for her with his number on it. "I need to get back but call me when your sister has the papers ready and we'll meet to sign them."

"Alright." She nodded. 

He left swiftly and she found herself staring at the card in front of her in almost stunned silence. She hadn't expected him to just decide not to be a part of it at all but she had to admit that it did give her a feeling of relief. She knew this way she wouldn't have to compromise the plans she and Gendry had already made for their future and the future of the baby, which was good. She sent a text to Sansa as she made her way back to the tram station to have her start on whatever paperwork would be needed for what they agreed to and thanked the Gods that her sister was a lawyer so she didn't have to deal with finding one.

She made the conscious decision not to tell Gendry about this until she had the paperwork signed and in hand because she didn't want him to freak out about it. She wanted to be entirely sure that there would be no problem before she told him so he wouldn't worry. The whole thing was stressful but she was glad that it wasn't as bad as it could have been. Podrick seemed like a nice guy but she was glad that he had decided against being involved because she'd already come to see Gendry as the baby's father and she was completely comfortable with that. Her family was already laid out in her mind and didn't have room for change.


	16. Chapter 16

Gendry was so absorbed in his work that he didn't notice Edric had come in until his brother was standing directly in front of him. He sighed to himself and dropped what he was working on into the quenching bucket so he could look at him properly without worrying about accidentally burning himself or ruining the work he'd already completed.

"You need something?" He asked. He knew for a fact that Edric wasn't working today so his appearance in the forge was unexpected and Gendry found himself hoping that whatever he wanted, it didn't devolve into an argument like many of their conversations did.

"I wanted to talk to you." Edric said, shifting from one foot to the other.

"About?" Gendry asked, using a rag to wipe the sweat from his forehead. Edric blew out a long breath before answering.

"Look, I know that you and I have never gotten along and I want to change that." He said and Gendry raised an eyebrow.

"Why?" He asked suspiciously.

"Because we're family." Edric said seriously. "I know that a lot of the problems we've had are because of me and I've been working on it, truly I have, and I want to try to actually be a family. You're my brother, and Bella, Mya and Barra are my sisters. Our father is shit, it's something we all know, and I want to be better than him so I want to actually form a relationship with my family. If you'll let me."

Gendry studied his face for any sign of a lie, stunned at the words he'd spoken, but he couldn't find any. All that was on Edric's face was genuine concern as he waited for Gendry to speak. 

"You're serious?" He asked.

"I am." Edric nodded. "I want to know my family."

"Alright then." Gendry said after a moment, holding his hand out. "We'll give it a try then."

Edric smiled as he reach out to shake his hand and it was then that Gendry noticed the bag in his other hand. He glanced at it curiously.

"What's that?" He asked. Edric glanced down at the bag as if he'd forgotten he was carrying it before he held it out to Gendry.

"It's for you actually." He said. "Or, really it's for your daughter but..."

"How'd you know Arya was having a girl?" Gendry asked as he accepted the bag.

"Bella told me." He shrugged. "Open it."

Gendry opened the bag and pulled out the tissue paper piled in the top before turning it upside down on the table so he didn't get soot from his hands on the gift. Inside was a set of bows and a small stuffed animal with a pacifier attached to it.

"I didn't really know what to get." Edric shrugged. "I don't know much about babies but the lady at the shop assured me that these were both safe bets for presents."

"No, it's great." Gendry said. "You can never have too many bows, or at least that's what Sansa says."

"Good. That's good." Edric said as he rocked on his feet. 

"Thanks for coming by." Gendry said awkwardly, neither of them quiet sure where to go with the conversation now.

"Yeah, no problem." Edric said, clearing his throat. "I should get going but, um, give me a call. We can hang out some time."

"Yep." Gendry nodded. "Will do."

The stared at each other for a moment longer before Edric nodded firmly and left, patting Gendry on the shoulder as he passed, and leaving Gendry shaking his head slightly. He shook of the weirdness of the interaction as he scooped the items back into the bag before going back to his work. He had a lot of custom orders to complete so he couldn't allow himself to be distracted by the strangeness of the day.

He got back into the zone for work rather quickly allowing him to complete the project he'd been working on before the interruption only a few hours later and start on another one. The commissions had been steadily rolling in for the last couple of weeks, many of them custom pieces, which he really enjoyed because it broke up the monotony of the day. He found that he preferred custom pieces because it allowed him to be creative when he'd otherwise be stuck doing the same thing day in and day out.

By the end of the work day, with no other distractions occurring, he was halfway finished with the second project he'd started that day and was feeling quite accomplished. He took care to close up the forge and the shop that was attached before leaving to make his way home.

* * *

Arya was already there when he got to the flat with Netflix up and the show they'd been binge watching together already cued. She was standing in the kitchen with take out menus spread in front of her and she greeted him with a smile and a light kiss.

"What are we feeling tonight?" She asked. "I'm partial to Chinese but you can order whatever you want."

"No, Chinese sounds great." He said, leaning over her shoulder to look at the menu even though they always ordered the same thing. "We could even get extra spring rolls this time."

"What a rebel." She teased, grinning at him. He rolled his eyes at her as she grabbed her phone to call in their order and he moved away from her to go to the bedroom and change out of his work clothes. 

He took a quick shower to wash the sweat and soot from his skin knowing that Arya would wait for him before she started the show. He ran the towel through his hair after he climbed out and yanked on a pair of sweatpants before rejoining her in the living room. She scooted close to him as he sat down on the couch and pushed her nose against his neck lightly.

"You smell good." She said happily and he laughed.

"You know, sometimes you're like an overgrown puppy." He teased and she pinched his side lightly, having easy access due to the fact that he wasn't wearing a shirt, before snuggling back in with no further protest to his words making him grin as he pushed play on the TV.

They got absorbed in the show quickly after that, just as they usually did, only leaving the sofa when the buzzer went off to retrieve their food. Arya shifted so that she was sitting cross legged on the sofa and balanced her plate on her belly easily as she shoveled rice into her mouth while Gendry just held his in his hand and they split the spring rolls between them.

After finishing their dinner, he took the plates to the kitchen to put them in the sink and Arya left the couch to go to the bathroom before they started the next episode of the show and he heard her phone beep with a message. He glanced around the room until he located it at the end of the sofa.

"Arry, you got a message." He called.

"Can you check it for me?" She asked and he heard the water start running in the next room as he made his way over and picked it up. He typed in her code, as familiar with it as he was his own, to check the message. It was from Sansa.

"Sansa texted." He said as she left the bathroom, his eyes skimming the text. "She says she has the paperwork ready."

"Oh." Arya said, grabbing the phone from his hands to type something back but he noticed her demeanor change slightly as she did. She seemed a bit more figitty than she had before.

"What paperwork?" He asked curiously and her eyes snapped up to his.

"It's nothing." She said quietly. "Just something I ask her to put together for me."

"For what?" He asked and she shrugged.

"Just working out some logistics." She answered. "Um, anyway. Let's finish this episode before bed."

"Okay." He said hesitantly, joining her on the sofa once more as she hit play.

He found himself studying her as the show played in front of them as he tried to work out why she was acting so weird after the text from Sansa. He didn't know what paperwork she needed her sister to put together and he couldn't fathom anything that she'd need a lawyer for but her attitude and reluctance to give a clear answer made him feel as if she was lying to him about something that he just couldn't figure out. He made a mental note to ask her more about it later. He needed a clear answer.


	17. Chapter 17

Even though Sansa completed the paperwork in record time it wasn't until a full week later that they were able to meet up at her office to sign them. Gendry had kept asking her about the paperwork and what it was for but she'd managed to avoid really answering him. She felt guilty about lying to him but she wanted to have the paperwork signed and finished before she told him about it so that he would know that there was nothing to worry about. He'd been busy with work and trying to complete the orders that came in and she didn't want to add more stress on top of that.

She left work early, leaving Ned to teach the last class of the day, so that she could make the trip uptown. This time she had a legitimate appointment with her sister so the receptionist allowed her to go up in the elevator rather than telling her to wait for someone to come down allowing Arya to make her way to Sansa's office rather quickly. Podrick was already inside, sitting across the desk from Sansa, when she entered so she joined him quickly.

"Sorry I'm a little late." She said. "The tram was a little behind schedule."

"It's fine." Sansa said as she started pulling papers from the file sitting in front of her before she looked up to meet Podrick's eyes. "Now, these papers are a permanent release of rights so once they're signed that's it. Do you understand that?" 

"I do." Podrick nodded. Sansa's eyes turned to her.

"They also state that since he's given up all rights, you cannot ask for compensation or insist he take on a role in the child's life at a later date." She said. "Do you understand the implications of that?"

"Yes." Arya answered.

"And you are both absolutely sure that this is what you wish to do?" She asked.

"I'm sure." Podrick said.

"Me too." Arya echoed. Sansa nodded and pushed the papers across the desk.

"Alright then. Sign here, here and here." She said, pointing to the appropriate places.

She waited until both of them had signed before pulling them back to her side of the table and putting them through the scanner so that they showed up on her computer. She clicked around a few times until the printer started up and she rolled her chair to retrieve the papers leaving three neat stacks in front of her. She straightened them out and put each pile into separate file folders, one of which she slid into her own file cabinet, before handing the other two to each of them.

"Here are copies of the paperwork for your files." She said as they took them.

"Thank you for doing this Sansa." Podrick said as he slipped the file into his briefcase.

"Of course." She answered politely. "The papers will be filed with the court in the next few days."

"Alright." He nodded before turning to Arya with his lips pursed. "Um, congratulations on your child."

"Thanks." She said. He nodded sharply and stood to leave the room.

The door closed quietly behind him leaving her and her sister sitting in silence. Sansa was studying her face as she tapped her fingers on the desk, neither of them quite sure what to say, and Arya blew out a long breath as she leaned back into the chair and ran her hands along her belly. 

"So." Sansa said finally, raising an eyebrow at him. "I bet Gendry will be relieved that Podrick signed the papers and didn't change his mind."

"He doesn't know." Arya told her quietly.

"What do you mean?" Sansa asked, her brow furrowed.

"I haven't told him." She said, with a sigh. "I didn't want him to worry."

"Are you serious?" Sansa asked, disbelief clear in her voice. "Arya, he needs to know."

"I know." She said. "I just wanted to have everything sorted before I told him."

"How do you think he's going to react when he figures out that you've kept this from him?" Sansa asked. "He's going to be furious."

"He'll understand." Arya protested. "There's nothing to worry about anymore."

"If you really believe that, you're kidding yourself." Sansa said, shaking her head. "You need to tell him as soon as possible and whatever reaction he has, you'll have to deal with."

"I'm gonna tell him today." Arya said, waving the file in her hand. "I'll show him these."

"Well, good luck with that." Sansa said, her voice slightly sarcastic and Arya sighed as she stood to leave.

"It'll be fine." She said firmly. Sansa didn't give her a response other than rolling her eyes and Arya got the distinct impression that she was calling her an idiot in her mind which she did her best to ignore as she left.

* * *

After the meeting Arya went straight home with the words her sister said lodged in her mind where she couldn't shake them. She knew Gendry would be angry when he found out but she hoped that he'd understand why she'd done what she did when she explained it to him.

To take her mind off of it she started baking. She'd developed a habit of stress baking when she was in college and now she couldn't stop herself from doing it any time she was even a little bothered by something. She decided to make chocolate-cherry cupcakes because they were Gendry's favorite and it gave her something to do with her hands and keep her mind from worrying. After sliding the cupcakes in the oven to bake she made icing to go on top adding extra cherries to the mixture to intensify the flavor.

By the time Gendry came home she had iced the cupcakes and successfully distracted herself. She noticed him glancing at the cupcakes after dropping a brief kiss on her lips before he turned to her with a raised eyebrow.

"You alright?" He asked. He was familiar with her stress baking.

"Yeah." She said quietly, not quite ready to address the paperwork. "Just thought it would be nice to have them for dessert."

"Fair enough." He shrugged. He slipped off his jacket and hung it on the coat rack the kept near the door. "Just let me clean up and we'll start on dinner."

It didn't take him long to come back out and they began making dinner together. They moved around each other in the kitchen instinctively as they worked and it didn't take them long to have the food finished. Arya was going through how to explain everything to him in her mind as she worked, resulting in it being really quiet as they moved around, and she knew that Gendry took note of it. He kept looking at her with concern on his face making her feel even more guilty about not telling him.

When they finally sat down to eat, she made an effort to keep up a conversation to dispel the worry she could tell he was filling and listened as he told her about his day. He'd spent his lunch break with his brother that day as they attempted to mend there relationship and he was surprised that it actually went well. According to him, they hadn't argued at all, not even a small one. She was happy that he was working things out with his family and told him as much but the paperwork, which she'd left sitting on the counter, and the conversation they needed to have was still weighing on her mind through it all.

"Okay, Arry." He said softly, taking her hand. "What's going on?"

"What do you mean?" She asked, standing to clear their plates and put them in the sink in an effort to avoid the subject for a little while longer.

"You've been quiet." He said, following after her. "And you've been baking. I've known you practically your whole life, I know when something's wrong."

She sighed lowly before she lifted her eyes to meet his. She knew it was probably best to just rip the band-aid off and get it out there.

"Can we talk?" She asked, chewing on her lip. 

"No good conversation starts that way." He said and she could tell he was trying to make a joke but the wariness in his eyes spoke for itself. She sucked in a long breath.

"I went to see Sansa today." She started, reaching for the file that she'd left on the counter. "She finished the paperwork I asked for."

"You finally going to tell me what it's about then?" He asked. She handed him the file.

"I found the father." She said quietly, her hand coming to rest on her belly. "It was a total accident, he works with Sansa, but anyway...he agreed to sign a release of rights."

Gendry stared at her for a long moment before he opened the file and flicked through the pages, his eyes trailing over the words, until he snapped it shut and tossed it back onto the counter.

"You've been avoiding my questions about these papers for a week." He said, his voice low and controlled letting her know right away that Sansa was right. He was pissed. "You didn't think that this was something I should have been aware of?"

"I didn't want you to worry." She told him. 

"That's bullshit Arya!" He snapped, his voice raising slightly. "I should have been told."

"It's sorted now." She said. "I made sure of that. Now we don't need to worry about anyone coming in and messing our family up."

"Oh yeah? And what happens when she's born and he changes his mind, decides he wants to be involved after all?" He asked sharply. 

"He won't." She said. "He signed a permanent release of rights, he can't change his mind."

"I should have been fucking told." He said, ignoring her words. "This is about _our_ daughter. She's mine too, you can't just go around making blanket decisions without telling me Arya. Or have you decided you don't want me involved too?"

"How could you even think that?" She asked, glaring at him.

"Well, you seem to be making decisions about her future all on your own without even talking to me about it. How am I supposed to know what you've decided?" He growled out. The anger left her as quickly as it had come.

"I'm sorry." She breathed out. "I thought I was doing the right thing."

"You always do." He said, shaking his head. "Sorry isn't good enough. Not this time."

He spun away from her and left the flat before she could say anything else. The door slammed so hard behind him that the frame rattled and she felt tears leaving hot trails down her cheeks. She stood rooted to her spot, staring at the door for a full ten minutes as she willed it to open and for him to come back but he didn't. She knew he had real reason to be angry, she'd fucked up. There was no denying that. She pulled in a shaky breath as she patted her hand on her bump lightly.

"He'll come back." She wasn't sure if she was trying to reassure herself or speaking to the baby. "It's gonna be okay."


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story won't leave me alone so here's another update. Hope you guys like it.

The moment the door slammed closed behind him, he wanted to turn around and go back but he forced himself to walk away. He knew that he had overreacted to what she had told him but he couldn't stop himself from saying the things he had. It was fear, he knew that. Fear that it would all be taken away from him, fear that she'd finally figure out he wasn't good enough and walk away. He hated that he thought like that, he knew it was destructive thinking, but he couldn't stop it. He knew his reaction was meant to push her away because it was something he'd done a lot when he was younger to anyone who got too close.

Arya had broken down his walls a long time ago and had been as stubborn as he was when they were children. No matter how much he pushed, she'd never let him push her away and he'd grudgingly let her in, little by little. They never lied to each other about anything and he knew it was the fact that she kept it from him, more than anything else, that had prompted his reaction. It had triggered a vulnerable part of him that he'd thought he'd already dealt with and highlighted the fact that he most certainly had _not_. He didn't want to lose her, especially not now, and he knew his reaction wasn't great. He needed to apologize so that they could talk about what she'd told him in a better way but he couldn't get himself to go back just yet.

When he'd left the flat, he'd began walking in an aimless direction intent on clearing his mind before going back and he had ended up in the park that was just down the street from where they lived. He figured it was as good a place as any to calm his thoughts so he sat down on a bench facing the small man made lake as the streetlights flickered on, illuminating the sidewalk as evening fell around him. He scrubbed his hands over his face, letting out a frustrated breath as he did so, and forced his mind to quiet. 

He knew he probably looked a mess, his hair was sticking up from where he kept running his hands through it and his cheeks were ruddy from a few frustrated tears that slipped from his eyes making him thankful that it was so late in the day so there was no one around to witness it. He knew in the back of his mind that he was probably being really dramatic right now and he wanted to hit himself for acting so pompous. His ringing phone snapped him out of his thoughts and he rushed to pull it out of his pocket thinking that it might be Arya. It ended up being Jon.

"Arya called you I presume." He said by way of a greeting.

"Arya?" Jon asked, his voice showing genuine confusion. "Why would Arya be calling me? Is something wrong?"

"Just me being an absolute idiot." Gendry muttered, though he knew Jon heard him anyway.

"What happened?" Jon asked.

"Why are you calling, if not for Arya?" Gendry asked, avoiding the question.

"I was calling to make plans with you actually. Ygritte and I are coming down to King's Landing next month so Sansa and Arya can help her pick a wedding gown." Jon told him. "But that's not really important right now. Don't think I'm going to let you avoid the question, what happened?"

"We had a bit of an argument." Gendry told him quietly. "I may have overreacted."

"What was the argument about?" Jon asked.

"She found the father. The biological father, I mean. He apparently works with Sansa and they met." Gendry explained. "She didn't tell me, not until earlier tonight, even though she's known for a week."

"Oh." Jon exhaled. "What are you guys going to do about it? With the baby?"

"She had him sign a permanent release of rights." Gendry said.

"That's good, right? It means he can't interfere anymore." He said and Gendry blew out a long breath.

"Yeah." He said softly, his own stupidity being driven home with those words.

"So....what was the argument about then?" Jon asked gently. "Is it just the fact that she didn't tell you?"

"I think so." Gendry admitted. "She's never lied to me before, not once. I think I just regressed to a surly teenager again for a few minutes and reacted without thinking it through."

"She's not your father, you know?" Jon said gently. "She's not going to abandon you."

"She could." Gendry spoke softly. "Technically, I have no rights here. She could walk away, she could take our daughter and leave, and I couldn't do a damn thing to stop her. She could leave me Jon, she could leave me just like everyone else does."

"She's not going to do that." Jon spoke firmly.

"How do you know?" Gendry asked. He hated the vulnerability in his voice but he couldn't shake it. In that moment he felt like that little kid again, the one he'd been when his mother died and he was being bounced around foster homes at a rapid pace, making him realize that no one wanted him. Making him realize that he was alone and no one cared.

"Because she loves you." Jon said, sounding sure. "I know you know that. Maybe she screwed up with not telling you but nothing is ever going to change how she feels about you. You and Arya? I hated it at first, I'll freely admit that, but the two of you just make sense. You're like soulmates or some shit. the kind of relationship that the two of you have, it doesn't come around all the time. You need each other and you love each other and in this shit world, you two found each other, and that's it's own kind of miracle. She'd never leave you, no matter what, just like you'd never leave her."

"What the fuck am I supposed to do here, Jon?" He asked, wiping his face free of the tears that ran down his cheeks. "I fuck up everything I touch. I'm a fuck up, I've always known that, it's what I do. But Gods, I don't want to fuck this up."

"You're not a fuck up, Gendry." Jon said harshly. "You've never been a fuck up, stop letting people in your past define you becasue they were wrong, all of them. You are a good man and you are worthy of the love my sister is giving you. You are worthy of being a father to her child. Do you understand me? Go home, talk to her." 

"Okay." Gendry nodded even though Jon couldn't see him as he sucked in a shaky breath. "Okay."

"It's going to be fine." Jon assured him. "I know it will."

Jon hung up and Gendry shoved the phone back in his pocket. He scrubbed his hands over his face once more as he sucked in a few more deep breaths before he stood from the bench he was sitting in and started making his way back home determinedly. As he walked back to the flat he made an effort to take what Jon said and shove the destructive tendencies that had reared their heads back down so that he could have a rational discussion with her when he got back.

* * *

Stepping inside the flat was a direct contrast to when he'd entered earlier after work. Arya wasn't waiting in the kitchen for him and the whole flat was washed in darkness. He closed the door gently behind him and made sure it was locked before he made his way through the living room to the bedroom door. He paused with his hand on the handle and took in one lat deep breath before he pushed it open.

The lights were off but the early evening moonlight flowed in from the window where Arya hadn't closed the curtains illuminating her form on the bed easily. She was on his side of the bed with his pillow clutched in her arms. He knew she wasn't asleep because her shoulders were tense but she didn't turn to look at him. He kicked off his shoes before padding over to sit on the edge of the bed so he could see her face, the tear tracks on her cheeks making him want to hit himself even more than he had before, and she refused to look at him.

"I'm sorry." He breathed out softly, resting his hand gently on her hip.

"Why are you sorry?" She asked softly. "I'm the one who messed up."

"No." He said softly as he shook his head. "I overreacted. I don't like that you kept all of it from me but I shouldn't have left."

"I am sorry." She said, her eyes finally flickering over to met his. "I wasn't trying to lie to you or anything, I just didn't want you to worry. I thought, if I got him to sign the papers that it wouldn't matter but you were right. I should have told you. _You're_ her father Gendry, you said it yourself, DNA doesn't matter. She's our daughter and you had a right to know."

"I understand, Arya." He said seriously. "I know that you were just trying to do what you thought was best but it hit a nerve when I found out that you didn't tell me. It made me feel like you didn't trust me."

"I do." She said, sitting up in the bed. "I do trust you."

"I know." He assured her. "But sometimes feelings aren't rational. I think all of this, it just brought up a lot of things that I thought I'd worked through and as a result I said some things that I shouldn't have. I wanted to hurt you, I think. I wanted to push you away before you could do the same, maybe 'cause I thought it would hurt less that way, but it doesn't. The thought of losing you, it hurts so fucking much Arry."

"Hey." She said, grabbing his face in her hands and forcing him to meet her eyes. "I will never push you away or leave you, I promise. I love you, okay? Do you understand that?"

"Why?" He asked, his voice small. He knew in that moment that she knew their argument hadn't even really been about what it had seemed, that it had just been latent issues coming to the surface for him. He could see it register in her eyes before she spoke.

"Why?" She asked softly. "I love you because you make me laugh, because you never make me feel bad about myself, because you dance around the kitchen with me when we get tipsy. I love you because you always put me first and because you've never asked me to change. I love you because you're the only guy who never treated me like I was just some stupid little girl when I wanted to play footie. I love you for being a father even when you didn't have to be." She took a deep breath. "I love how stubborn and opinionated you are. I love the way you love your family. I love that you don't compromise on your principles for anyone. I love that you love our daughter as much as I do. I love you for everything you are. But most of all, I love you because you love me the same. Unconditionally."

Both of them were crying now and Gendry felt kind of like he couldn't breath as he processed the words she spoke. No one had ever said anything remotely close to what she just had in regard to him and it was throwing him off a bit. It made him realize in that moment that he hadn't truly believed it when she'd said she loved him before because subconsciously he hadn't felt worthy of it.

"I'm not worth it." He whispered softly.

"You are to me." She said, leaning in to kiss him before she leaned their foreheads together. "You're worth everything, Gendry."

"I don't deserve you." He said. 

"Yes, you do." She said firmly. "I love you."

"I love you too." He said, because he couldn't say anything else.


	19. Chapter 19

After their fight and the realization that Gendry still had some things from his childhood that he needed to work out they had agreed that therapy might be a good idea for both of them. They had separate sessions with the therapist they'd found once a week and sessions together once every two weeks. It was actually really helpful for both of them to talk about their relationship and their feelings with a mediator and their relationship became even deeper as a result. They'd made a promise to each other to never lie or keep things from one another again, even if what they needed to talk about was difficult.

They spent a lot of time together building their relationship further as their therapist suggested. She told them that even though they'd been friends for as ling as they had and had even entered a physical relationship that they needed to talk about their relationship even more. She had them set boundaries that neither of them had even thought about and told them to spend time just speaking to one another. The whole thing was actually useful and made their relationship better, even making them more open to one another which she hadn't thought was possible. 

They even spoke about the baby and their roles in her life which helped them understand one another in terms of their parenting which neither had considered before. Now, entering her eight month, they were secure in their relationships, both with each other and with their daughter. Arya felt completely ready for their daughter to be born and she knew that Gendry was the same. She was glad that they'd decided to do therapy because it had made everything in their life a bit easier.

Today though, she and Sansa were meeting with Ygritte to pick out bridesmaid dresses.They'd met with her to help her pick her wedding dress before and she wanted their help with the bridesmaids dresses because they'd be the ones wearing them and she wanted their opinion. They were cutting it a little short with the wedding being the next month but everything else was thankfully already scheduled and picked. Arya was a little worried about the timing of the wedding because it was so close to her due date but had assured Ygritte that she would be there. She wasn't going to miss her favorite brother's wedding.

Gendry had already left for work early that morning but she'd taken the day off for this. Her phone beeped with a text from Sansa when she finally showed up to pick her up. They were meeting Ygritte at the dress shop that she'd gotten her wedding dress from, which she'd taken a cab to from the hotel. She made sure her door was locked before making her way downstairs to find her sister waiting on the curb. She moved much slower than she usually did with her big belly leaving Sansa to laugh at her as she waddled slowly to the car and climbed in.

"Just you wait until you get pregnant." Arya said grumpily as Sansa pulled out and started downtown. "Let's see you get into a car gracefully."

Sansa snorted and didn't grace her with a response, instead she reached over and turned the radio up, singing along to it obnoxiously. Arya rolled her eyes at her sister before joining her in singing making the trip across town go much quicker. Sansa had to make a full round of the block before she could find a parking spot which made them slightly late and Ygritte was already inside waiting for them when they entered with a raised eyebrow but she didn't complain.

Ygritte had the worker bring out dresses of every color in the style she had decided she wanted and had them hung up in a line against the wall for the three of them to look at and they eliminated a few right away because they all agreed they were horrendous.

"I kind of like the cobalt blue one and the emerald green one." Ygritte said finally, plucking them both from where they were hanging so they could get a better look at them. The material of both dresses reflected the light and made them shimmer slightly.

"The green one is really pretty." Arya said, chewing her lip. 

"But?" Ygritte asked, sensing her obvious hesitation.

"But it might come off as a bit festive since you guys are having the wedding so close to Christmas." She said.

"She has a point." Sansa nodded. "And with my hair, I'd look like Christmas threw up on me."

"Fair." Ygritte nodded, looking at the two dresses in her hands. "We'll go with the blue then."

She sent the store worker off to find Sansa's size for her to try it on, all of them knowing that Arya would need to have her dress altered as likely none of them would be ready-made to accommodate her bump. The store they were in was on the higher end scale and they brought them champagne and small little cakes on a tray, even finding non-alcoholic cider for her, and they all happily indulged in it. They had plans to get lunch after they found dresses but none of them ever turned down free cakes.

Sansa, with her supermodel figure, fit the dress straight off the rack with no need for alterations and the color of the dress made her blue eyes pop. She twirled in front of the mirrors with Ygritte and Arya cheering her on until the worker came back to take Arya's measurements so that they could work on her dress. She'd have to come back in next week for a fitting but she didn't mind.

When they left, Ygritte caught a ride with them to the restaurant they had decided on rather than calling a car like she had to get to the store in the first place. It took half an hour to get to the restaurant because of the traffic and Arya was starving, the little cakes from the dress shop not helping, and she practically dragged them inside. It smelled heavenly and her stomach grumbled as they were led to a table and given menus.

"So, are you ready for the baby?" Ygritte asked after they'd placed their orders.

"Yeah, I think so." She answered. "The nursery is all ready, we've got a name picked out, we're ready. Now it's just a matter of waiting." 

"I can't wait to meet her." Sansa said, her excitement clear. "I'm going to hold her first. I have to make sure I'm her favorite."

"Oh please, you know that's going to be Jon." She laughed. "I'm half convinced that he has some strange mind control over babies, they all seem to think he's the best thing in the world."

"Not this time." Sansa said, a determined look in her eyes. Arya grinned at her before turning to Ygritte with a raised brow.

"So, speaking of babies. Are you and Jon going to be adding to the family anytime soon?" She asked and Ygritte shrugged.

"Maybe." She answered. "We've talked about it but haven't made any solid decisions yet."

"Oh, you should definitely have a baby." Sansa said, clapping happily. "That way they'll both have someone close in age. They'll be best friends."

"If you want Arya's kid to have a friend close in age, why don't you have a baby?" Ygritte asked, looking at Sansa with a smirk making her roll her eyes.

"I think one child out of wedlock is enough for our mother. She might actually kill us if I did that." She replied and Arya snorted. 

"That's likely true." She said, sipping at her water to quell her hunger as she waited for her food. 

"Anyway." Ygritte said, stretching the word slightly. "As I said, we're still talking about it but we're both really busy with work so we probably won't try for a baby right away. Maybe in a few months when things aren't so hectic."

"Boo!" Sansa said but the playful smile on her face said she wasn't really that disappointed. Arya was about to respond when she was thoroughly distracted by the arrival of their food.

She barely took a moment to thank the waiter before she was grabbing her fork and digging into her food. She caught Sansa and Ygritte staring at her with almost identical smirks but she ignored them as she continued eating. They ate their food at a much more sedate pace, talking about the wedding and small details that still needed worked out which she listened too even as she had nothing to contribute to it.

In the midst of their conversation, Ygritte mentioned that the train she'd taken down to King's Landing didn't have a return trip until late in the day and Arya immediately invited her to spend the time before her trip back at her flt and Sansa rapidly agreed to tag along saying that they could make it a girls day. She and Ygritte shared a glance.

"Okay, a condition of girls day Sans. We absolutely, under no circumstances, are doing makeovers." Arya put in. "I don't fancy being your personal barbie doll and you tend to go a little overboard with it."

"Alright, I swear it." Sansa said, raising her hand in a girl scout salute. "We'll just go back to your flat and eat ice cream on the couch while watching TV."

"Now that I can get behind." Ygritte grinned. 

"Me too." Arya grinned. 

"Great." Sansa clapped happily.

* * *

An hour later found them sitting in a row on the couch with the TV playing and a pint of ice cream in each of their hands. Arya had started feeling a bit out of sorts near the end of lunch so she was happy to relax into the couch beside them. She figured that she'd eaten her food too fast and that was what was making her feel bad because she her stomach had started aching so she ate her ice cream much slower.

Sansa had out the TV on some reality show about women picking out their wedding gowns in honor of Ygritte and they were taking great pleasure in judging the dresses as if they had any idea what they were talking about. Sansa seemed to be the most critical about them which didn't come as a surprise to her as she knew that her sister was quiet the perfectionist but she and Ygritte were just having fun making fun of the ugliest dresses, both being appalled when a bride would chose the one they absolutely hated.

"Seriously, she looks like a cupcake. Why would she choose to get married in that?" Ygritte said.

"I know." She agreed. "If I was marrying her, I'd run the other direction after seeing that monstrosity."

"You guys are being to harsh. I don't think it's actually that bad." Sansa said from her place between them. "It makes her hips look bigger but it's really not so bad."

"Seriously?" Arya raised an eyebrow. "Do you see the volume on that thing. No way does she fit through doorways."

"Alright, maybe you have a point with that." Sansa pursed her lips as she stared at the dress in the TV. "But it still isn't as bad as you guys are making it seem."

"Are you telling me that you would wear it?" Ygritte asked from her other side. Sansa's eyes flicked to each of them in turn before she rolled her eyes.

"Fine, okay. You guys are right, it's awful." She said finally. "I was just trying to be nice."

"She can't hear you Sans." Arya told her sister with a grin. "Be that mean girl that we all know you can be deep down. Criticize the ugly dresses with us."

"We know you want to." Ygritte teased and Sansa huffed.

"You two are insufferable." She said making them share a smug look. 

"You love us." Arys said, bumping her shoulder lightly.

"Unfortunately." She said with a smile on her face even as she rolled her eyes. 

They went back to watching the show as a new episode came on and Sansa got in on insulting to dresses as well. Arya felt even worse than she had before but she was having a nice time with Sansa and Ygritte and didn't want to let it effect her but the cramping in her stomach had gotten worse and she felt like she couldn't focus. She put her icecream down on the table and shifted her weight hoping that it would relieve some of the pressure and she could get comfortable but it didn't help, in fact it seemed to make it worse, and she grunted softly in pain.

"You okay?" Sansa asked and Arya glanced over to find both of them looking at her with concern in their eyes. She knew she couldn't play it off with both of them looking at her so intently. 

"I don't feel well." She told them.

"Do you want us to go?" Ygritte asked. "I'm sure I could find something to do with my time until I can board the train."

"No, you guys can stay." She shook her head. "I think I'll just go lay down for a while."

She stood and began making her way to the bedroom door when suddenly she felt a sharp pain in her abdomen and she cried out as she clutched her belly. Sansa and Ygritte were at her side only moments later as she felt a gush of something running down her legs and all she could think was _It's too soon_.

"By the gods." Sansa exclaimed and Arya registered that her sister was staring at her in horror.

"Get her on the floor. I'll call an ambulance." Ygritte said, her voice shaking.

"What's wrong?" She asked as Sansa helped her sit on the floor. It was then that she registered the blood and distantly knew that was a bad sign but she just couldn't _focus._

"It's going to be okay." Sansa murmured quietly but the fear in her face said differently. 

"Gendry." She said softly, feeling as if she was floating. She was in shock, it was the only explanation for her total lack of any feeling even when she knew logically that she should be worried.

"I'll call him." Sansa promised. "He'll meet us at the hospital."

Ygritte came back then, kneeling on her other side and she as she turned to look at her she noticed that her vision was blurry. The room was streaming around her and she felt as if she was floating. Ygritte tapped her cheeks lightly making her eyes jerk open, she hadn't realized she'd closed them.

"Cm'on. Stay awake." She said and Arya tried her best to follow her instructions but her eyes kept fluttering closed. 

She wasn't sure how much later it was when she was being lifted onto a stretcher by paramedics, her sense of time messed up, but she felt a hand clutching hers and Sansa's voice promising that everything would be alright before her mind faded to black.


	20. Chapter 20

Davos and Edric both joined him for a late lunch to discuss the business. It was doing very well, with more and more commissions coming in each week, making Davos think about his retirement. Gendry knew that he wanted to retire soon and leave the business for him to run but the older man had agreed to wait a few months after the baby was born to make the transition go much smoother. Edric didn't have a hand in the business but was happy to find out that he'd still keep his job when Davos did retire.

After they'd eaten their lunch, Davos brought out a moist cake for them to share that his wife had made. It was a chocolate cake, which Gendry was happy about as he preferred chocolate to vanilla, and it was delicious. 

"Careful Davos, you keep bringing in food like this and I might be tempted to steal your wife." Edric teased.

"I have to warn you son, she's stubborn." Davos told him with a smile.

"I'm sure I could handle it." Edric returned. "Especially for cooking like this."

"You know, you could just learn to cook yourself." Gendry told him with a grin.

"I can cook." Edric protested. "It's just maybe not the best."

"I'm sure I could give you a few lessons." He teased. Edric opened his mouth to respond but was cut off by Gendry's phone ringing. He dug it out of his pocket to check it and saw Sansa's face flashing indicating that she was calling him. He held up a finger to indicate for them to give him a minute before answering. "Sansa?"

"Gendry, you need to get to the hospital." Her voice came over the line panicked and teary. He stood from the table abruptly at her words.

"Hospital?" He asked, his heart racing. "What happened?"

"I don't know. There was just so much blood." She answered frantically and his chest tightened. He was struggling to draw breath in his panic.

"What hospital?" He forced out.

"King's Landing General." She said and he hung up without answering.

"Lad, what's going on?" Davos asked, caution in his voice.

"I don't know. She just said something about blood and the hospital." He said, sucking in breaths rapidly.

"You need to calm down before you hyperventilate and pass out." Edric said. "C'mon, I'll drive you."

"I'll close up and meet you there." Davos called after them but Gendry barely registered it as his thoughts began racing.

Edric grabbed his arm lightly and began leading him out of the building and he followed in a daze. He knew that blood wasn't good in a pregnancy, it meant that something was wrong and he didn't know what to do with that information. The thought of losing Arya or their daughter made him feel as if the walls were closing in and he couldn't breathe. He was vaguely aware of Edric speaking in a calming tone but he didn't register the words as they finally reached his brothers car and got out onto the road. 

He could hear his heartbeat thumping in his ears, drowning out everything else, as his entire being was focused on Arya. Something was wrong and he wasn't there. He needed to be there, he needed to know, and more than that, she needed him. She was probably scared, _he_ was scared, everything felt wrong. It wasn't supposed to happen like this. They were supposed to welcome their daughter happily and hold her close and now, now they might not even get to do that. He might not even get to see her.

The tires squealed when Edric jerked into a parking spot and Gendry leapt from the car, barely taking a moment to slam the door closed before he rushed toward the entrance to the emergency room. His eyes flicked around frantically as he stepped inside with Edric rushing to keep up with him and his eyes landed on Sansa and Ygritte. Sansa's eyes were red rimmed and she still had tears spilling down her face when he came to a stop in front of them.

"Where is she?" He asked, his voice coming out quick and frantic.

"They took her back. They told us only the father would be allowed back." Sansa said, her voice breaking. Gendry spun away from her immediately making his way to the desk.

"I need to go back there." He said harshly. 

"Name of the patient?" The receptionist asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Arya Stark." He said. "She came in with the ambulance."

The woman typed ion the information slowly making him want to throw something before finally seeming to locate whatever it was she was looking for.

"She's in an operating theatre." She told him. "I'll send word that you're here and a nurse will come to retrieve you."

He growled in frustration as she didn't seem to be treating this as the emergency that it obviously was but he knew that if he made a scene they'd likely throw him out and he couldn't afford that right now so he backed away from the desk with his fist clenched tightly at his side. He felt nervous energy buzzing through him and he pulled in a long breath and blew it out, repeating the process until he was relatively calm, and moved to wait for a nurse to come get him.

He leaned against the wall, putting a little bit of distance between himself and their family so he didn't have to deal with their emotions on top of his own while he was trying to remain calm, and finally after what felt like hours but was really only twenty minutes the nurse finally came out and he followed her back quickly. She didn't lead him to the operating theatre like he was expecting and instead brought him to a room where she motioned for him to sit. All of it only made him more anxious and he blew out a shaky breath as he buried his face in his hands.

"You can't be in the operating room right now but the doctors are doing everything they can." She said, her voice soft and sympathetic. "I'll bring you updates when I can. Try not to worry."

She left him alone in the room after he lifted his face from his hands to glare at her for that statement. How was he supposed to not worry? His family was in danger and he didn't know a damn thing about the situation. 

He couldn't sit still, his mind was flooding with thoughts and worries making him pace the floor as he tried his hardest not to think about death and Arya in the same sentence. The clock on the wall was ticking quietly but it was clear as day to him as the sound rang in his ears marking the passage of time. He was almost certain this was what hell felt like but regardless he sent up a prayer for any god that was listening.

The nurse popped in in regular intervals but she didn't say anything other than they were still operating and that everything was going well. His mind couldn't stop conjuring worst case scenarios, leaving him on edge and angry, so when a doctor came into the room instead of the nurse his reaction was probably not the best.

"Can someone tell me what is going on with my family for fucks sake?" He snapped. To her credit, the doctor didn't say anything about his obvious attitude as she motioned for him to sit down in front of her.

"I'm Dr. Smallwood, I was the surgeon who attended your wife." She said.

"She's not....we're not married." He said, taking a deep breath to calm himself. It seemed like he'd finally get some answers and he didn't want to screw that up by being a dick. "We re together but just not married. It doesn't really matter, just tell me what happened. Please."

"When the paramedics brought her in, she'd already lost a lot of blood. We had to give her a transfusion in the operating room while we worked on figuring out the problem. I decided that the best course of action, for both mother and baby, was to deliver the child." She said and he sucked in a breath.

"It's too early." He said immediately.

"I understand that she was just entering her eight month so I was confident that the child could survive outside the womb." She told him gently. "She's in the NICU. She's small and she has a long road ahead of her before she can go home but she has some of the best doctors looking after her so try not to worry too much."

"And Arya?" He asked, the weight on his chest still not lifting.

"I'm not going to lie to you, it was a little touch and go for a while but she's alive." She said and he pulled in a deep breath. 

"She's alive." He breathed out, rubbing his hands over his face harshly.

"She's been moved to a recovery room and you'll be allowed to see her soon." She told him.

"What happened?" He asked, looking up to meet her eyes. "I mean, why...."

"It was a partial placental abruption." She said.

"What does that mean?" He asked.

"It's when the placenta pulls away from the uterine wall. A lot of blood flows through the placenta so when something like this happens, a person could bleed out very quickly." She explained. "It was lucky that she got to the hospital so quickly because we managed to stop the bleeding and repair the tear that it caused without any major damage to either of them."

"What caused it?" He asked, calmer now that he knew they were both relatively okay.

"Nothing." She told him. "It's just something that happens sometimes. There's not always a reason."

"I need to see her. I need to see them both." He said seriously.

"Of course." She nodded and stood from the table. "If you'll follow me."

She led him through the halls and took him up in the elevator to a higher floor and he tapped his fingers on his leg as she stopped in front of a door near the end of the hallway and pushed it open. He took a breath to steady himself before he stepped inside and stopped at the foot of the bed. Arya looked smaller than he knew her to be in the hospital bed and she was pale. She had an IV stuck in her arm and wires coming from the monitor that was showing her heartbeat, the soft repetitive beating the only indication that she was alive at all, and a harsh breath left him as he gripped the rails at the end of the bed. He felt unsteady.

"I'll let you have some time alone." Dr. Smallwood said. "Just ask one of the nurses when you want to see your daughter and they'll take you to her."

She left without waiting for him to acknowledge her words and he moved to sit in the chair next to the bed. Arya looked fragile, something he wasn't used to seeing in the woman he knew to be strong and fierce, and he reached out to take her hand. It was cool to the touch and it made him clutch onto her even harder as the reality of what he could have lost came crashing down on him.

"I'm here Arry." He said softly. "I'm right here."

The tears he'd been holding back for hours flowed down his cheeks as he stared at her chest rising and falling with her breaths and reassured himself that she was alive. He buried his face in the blankets over her hip and sucked in rapid breaths as he took a moment to just feel everything, the fear, the worry, the relief, as he allowed the tears to flow freely. 

* * *

After he managed to collect himself somewhat he went looking for a nurse to take him to his daughter. He knew that Arya would want an update when she woke up and he needed to see his daughter for himself so he followed the nurse quietly to another part of the hospital. The room was full of tiny babies and it was eerily silent as she led him to his daughter. 

She was in a plastic box that he'd been told was actually called an incubator and was meant to keep her warm as she couldn't regulate her own body temperature yet. She had breathing tubes in her nose and wires attached to little pads on her chest. She was so small that he was almost afraid to touch her even when the doctor working in the NICU told him that it was okay to do so.

"She's doing quiet well considering the circumstances." A nurse told him as he was checking the machine that she was attached to. 

"Is she?" He asked softly, his eyes not leaving his daughter. "She's so tiny."

"She really is." He smiled kindly. "She's almost two months early so we'd expect some more issues in regards to her development but her breathing is great and her heart rate is steady despite the trauma of her birth. Both are good signs. She's a little fighter."

"Just like her mother." He said softly, a slight smile crossing his face.

The nurse seemed to finish checking things and he smiled at him.

"Congratulations." He said. "I know this probably wasn't how you planned for her to come into the world but she's here now. You deserve the same congratulations that other parents get when they have a healthy baby."

"Thank you." Gendry said sincerely, returning the nurses smile.

"Of course." He nodded before moving away to check the monitors for the other babies and Gendry's eyes went back to his daughter.

She had tufts of fuzzy brown hair on her head and he suspected already that she'd resemble Arya quite a lot as she grew. He sat there for a long time before it occurred to him that he should probably inform Sansa, Ygritte and Edric that everything was okay so he reluctantly left his daughter's side, promising softly that he would come back, and made his way down to the hospital waiting room.

When he finally reached it, he found not only the three people he'd left there but seemingly their entire combined family squashed together and the moment he was sighted they all went eerily quite and turned to him. The weight of all their eyes on him was a little intimidating and he was thankful that he brought relatively good news for them.

"So?" Jon asked, his worry clear on his face. 

"Everyone's okay." He said, getting that news out first. Everyone seemed to exhale as one being before Catelyn stepped closer to him.

"What happened?" She asked and he relayed the information that the doctor had given him.

"So, the baby is in the NICU?" Sansa asked, clearly wanting clarification.

"She is." He nodded. "She'll likely have to stay there for a few weeks so she can gain some weight but the doctor told me that everything looked good considering and Arya should make a full recovery, though she'll be spending some time in the hospital as well as she heals. As I said, everyone's okay."

"Can we see them?" Jon asked and Gendry pursed his lips. 

"No one but the parents are allowed in the NICU and the doctor said no visitors for Arya until tomorrow." He said and he saw his face fall. "But, I took some pictures of the baby if you want to see her."

He pulled out his phone as they all crowded into his space excitedly and clicked onto the pictures he'd taken before turning the screen for them to see. Sansa cooed as she touched to screen lightly with her finger.

"She's so small." Ygritte said and he nodded.

"That was my first thought too." He said.

He allowed his phone to be passed around as everyone took their turn to look at the baby before it was handed back to him. He said his goodbyes to them not long after, assuring them that he'd see them the next day when they came back to visit Arya, and made his way back up to the recovery floor.

He took his seat next to the bed once more and spoke softly to Arya about their daughter until exhaustion seemed to hit him all at once and he leaned his head on the bed and closed his eyes, intent on just resting his eyes for a moment but the next time he woke, the room was shrouded in darkness. He sat up, rubbing his eyes as he rolled his shoulders which were stiff from the position he'd been in. When his eyes trailed to Arya's face he found hers open and staring at him making him suck in a gasp as he bolted up from his seat.

"You're awake." He said softly, touching her face.

"What happened?" She asked, her voice rough. She cleared her throat as her hand drifted to lay on her stomach as she had become used to doing and suddenly her eyes went wide and her heart rate monitor started beeping wildly. "The baby!"

"Hey, hey, look at me. Everything's okay." He said, making sure that his voice was reassuring. "The baby's fine. Calm down."

The door to the room opened and a nurse stepped in, Gendry presumed that she was coming to check on the spike in the heart monitor, and Arya's eyes flipped to her quickly.

"I wanna see my baby." She said immediately and the nurse gave her a sympathetic look.

"I know but your baby is in the NICU and we can't move her. You also can't move right now as you've only just woken up, so you're going to have to be a little patient." She said, moving to check the monitors. "But, your baby is fine and if you work with me, we might be able to get you into a wheelchair so you can go see her in the morning."

"I have pictures." Gendry said, taking Arya's hand as he saw her face fall. "I went to see her while you were asleep. She's amazing Arry."

"Yeah?" She asked, her voice hopeful as she looked at him.

"Yeah." He nodded as he once again dug his phone from his pocket to show her the pictures. He kissed her forehead as she swiped through them with a soft look on her face. The nurse left the room with no interruptions and Gendry squeezed Arya's hand lightly. 

"Did I do something wrong?" She asked quietly as she handed his phone back. "Is this my fault?"

"Absolutely not." He shook his head. "The doctor will explain it better when she comes in I'm sure but she told me that it was a partial placental abruption and she said that it was just something that happened sometimes. You didn't do anything to cause this, it just happened, but you're okay and our daughter is okay and that's all that matters."

"She's really going to be okay?" She asked.

"Yes." He said immediately. "I love you okay? I just had to say that. The thought of losing you, of losing both of you, is the worst thing I could ever think of. Today was the worst day of my life because I didn't know if you were going to make it but everything is fine now. I promise."

"I love you too." She said softly, smiling at him. 

"I know." He returned. 


	21. Chapter 21

In the first week that she was in the hospital, it was like her room had a revolving door as many of her friends and family made routine visits but when the doctor finally told her that she could be released she managed to convince them to all go back to their homes and lives by promising updates. She spent much of her time with her daughter in the NICU, where she was steadily getting stronger. The downside to being released from the hospital was the realization that she was going home but her daughter wasn't which was hard. Going home without her felt like a horrible nightmare but she at least knew that her daughter was alright.

Gendry was much the same as she was when about leaving their daughter alone at the hospital but he pushed through it and helped her deal with her own anxieties. He even dealt with her moods graciously even when she knew she was being unfair. She became increasingly annoyed when she couldn't do things for herself, the stitches still in her skin making it impossible to bend over fully or lift anything on top of not being able to bring their daughter home made her lash out. She always apologized once she'd calmed down and she felt bad that she was taking it all out on him but he supported her through all of it. It reminded her how much she loved him.

It was two weeks after her release from the hospital, three since she'd had her baby, when she finally had a check up with her doctor. Arya didn't much care for the visit as it took time away from her daughter but it was over with quickly, her doctor giving her a clean bill of health. It would take a while longer for the incision sight to fully heal, probably another three to four weeks, but there was no infection or anything else to worry about. 

She found herself back at the hospital after her doctor's visit, staring into the box where her daughter lay, as Gendry rested his hands on her shoulders and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. Their daughter was still small but she'd managed to gain some weight so she didn't look a scrawny as she had when she was born. She still had a feeding tube and oxygen in her nose but she looked healthy. Gendry told her that he suspected that their daughter would look like her as she grew and Arya was inclined to agree, she even had the same trademark Stark grey eyes. Arya was slightly relieved that she didn't seem to look at all like her biological father meaning they would have less to explain to their families. 

They'd named her Jocelyn after a distant relative on Gendry's side of the family because she had thought the name was really pretty and it fit their daughter perfectly. She was the most amazing thing Arya had ever seen.

"Would you like to hold her?" A nurse asked as she came over to check her monitors and Arya looked at her with wide eyes. They hadn't been able to hold her yet because she hadn't been strong enough so the question thoroughly surprised her.

"Can I?" She asked quietly. "I mean, will it not hurt her?"

"I believe that she's strong enough now." She said. "The doctor has decided to remove the feeding tube later today as she can take a bottle on her own now and she's gained a sufficient amount of weight."

"Yeah." She nodded eagerly. "I'd love to hold her."

"Alright then. Take a seat and I'll get her situated." Arya sat down in the seat next to the box and watched as the nurse opened the side and moved the wires around so that she could pick her up. The nurse turned and laid her daughter gently in her arms and her eyes immediately went to her daughters face. She hardly even noticed when the nurse walked away.

"Hi, baby." She spoke softly, gently bouncing the baby in her arms. Gendry knelt next to her chair and brushed his finger lightly over the curve of her cheek, the look of awe on his face mirroring hers. "We're you're parents."

"You're beautiful, did you know that?" Gendry asked, in the softest voice she'd ever heard from him as he continued to touch her lightly. 

"She's amazing, isn't she?" She asked and he looked up at her with a soft smile.

"She is." He agreed. "I can't believe she's ours."

"Me either." She said, looking back at their daughter. Her eyes were open and she was looking up at her making her heart clench. She never thought she could feel so much love for another person as she felt looking down at their daughter. She booped her nose lightly and smiled when she scrunched up her face. "You're perfect."

"Thank you, Arry." Gendry said softly and she glanced at him to see a serious expression on his face.

"For what?" She asked.

"For letting me be a part of this." He told her, brushing his hand over their daughter's hair. "For letting me be a father."

"You don't need to thank me." She said, leaning over to press a soft kiss to his cheek. "I could have done this without you, we both know that, but I don't want to. I want you to be a part of our lives, I want you to be her father, because I know that you're going to be amazing. I love you and I want you here, with us, for the rest of our lives."

He stared at her for a long moment before a grin came across his face and he started laughing.

"What?" She huffed.

"Maybe your mother was right all along." He said. "We should have gotten married."

"Is that a proposal?" She teased and he shrugged.

"Do you want it to be?" He asked, his tone still playful but his eyes serious. She chewed on her lip as the air between them became charged with the question neither of them had completely spoken yet and her eyes fell to Jocelyn. They already lived together and had a family and, most importantly, she loved him. What had seemed absurd and impossible only a few months before had now become a very real possibility and, without her fully realizing it, had become something she _wanted_.

"If I said yes, what would you say?" She asked and he studied her face for a long moment before he shrugged.

"Since I'm already down here." He teased before his face changed and his tone became serious. "Arry, you're my best friend. You've been my best friend practically our entire lives and now my life feels incomplete without you, as if a part of me is missing. I never gave much thought to love or relationships before and I've realized that it was because I already had you, even before we were together, and being with anyone else felt wrong. You've given me a home, a family, and a daughter without ever giving it a second thought. You're everything that I've ever wanted and I love you. I will love you for the rest of our lives if you let me so, Will you marry me?"

"Yes. Absolutely yes." She spoke the words almost before he'd even finished the question as tears fell over her cheeks. She kissed him happily and he brushed her tears away with his thumbs, leaning their foreheads together when he pulled back, and they stayed like that for a time just breathing each other in. Jocelyn stared up at them with wide open eyes, completely calm and content between them, and Arya knew than that their life together was going to be amazing.

* * *

Jon and Ygritte had made the decision to postpone the wedding after she'd been rushed to the hospital but finally, two months later than they'd planned, the whole family made the trip Beyond the Wall for the ceremony. Jocelyn was now just over three months old and was perfectly healthy. Despite her rough start to life, she was as normal as any other baby now. 

She was quite the attraction at the reception in her poofy blue ruffled dress and gummy smile. She was being passed around like a hot potato and every time she caught a glance at her daughter she was in someone else's arms. She and Gendry sat at a table in the corner watching everyone dance and she was amused to see Rickon spinning Jocelyn around at the edge of the dance floor as Lyanna scolded him, warning him that the baby was going to throw up all over him.

"She's right. He's going to regret that in a minute." Gendry said, leaning over to speak to her.

"Totally." She agreed before shrugging. "But hey, maybe it will be effective birth control."

"We'll see." Gendry laughed. 

"It better be. If there was another surprise pregnancy, especially if it's Rickon, my mother would murder all of us." She told him.

"All of us?" Gendry asked, raising an eyebrow. "Who's included in that exactly?"

"Every single one of her kids that aren't married." She said with a grin. "To prevent it from happening again."

"We wouldn't have to worry then." He said, bringing her hand up to press a kiss against the back of it.

They'd gone to city hall the day he'd proposed and gotten married, figuring that there was no point in waiting, but they hadn't exactly informed their family yet. Gendry was in the process of making their rings in the forge when he had time away from the other projects he had to complete and they'd decided to wait until they were finished to inform them.

"You know what, maybe we should just move to Essos." She said playfully. "That might be far enough away for us to tell my mother that we got married without anyone being invited."

"Maybe we should just tell her we got engaged." Gendry said after a moment. "That way, she can have the wedding she's expecting and we'll live to see our daughter's first steps."

"Sounds like a plan." She said with a smile before standing. "Now, what do you say we get a dance in while our daughter is being occupied."

"Well, if you insist." He grinned as he took her hand and pulled her into the crowd of people on the dance floor.

They danced the whole night, switching partners occasionally, and even dancing with their daughter. Being surrounded by her family and the all encompassing love reminded her that though they may fight and have disagreements, she could always count on these people to be there when it counted and to have her back. She was happy that her daughter would grow up surrounded by all of the love from everyone in her family. She knew that her daughter would never have a day where she felt unloved and that was the best thing she could have hoped for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to everyone who read this story and commented, I appreciate you greatly. I may revisit this world sometime but this is the end for now. I hope you all enjoyed it.


End file.
